A new, permanent location for the Broadway Youth Center ( BYC ) was among the announcements at the 2016 annual meeting for Howard Brown Health, held March 30 at its Andersonville Brown Elephant Resale Shop location, 5404 N. Clark St.
President and CEO David Ernesto Munar described Howard Brown's previously announced efforts to move the BYC facility—currently located at Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ in Lakeview—into underutilized spaces in Howard Brown's Sheridan Road clinic.
"Though technically possible, the plan proved unfeasible, exorbitantly expensive and complex, given the array of services at that site," Munar said. "The advisory board recommended a standalone location, if at all possible."
A location has been chosen for BYC at 4009 N. Broadway St. The new location will be customized to include drop-in space, storage lockers, a computer lab, in-house laundry services, showers, classrooms and health promotion and insurance navigation services. The move is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
Latonya Maley, formerly BYC's youth HIV/STI prevention manager, has been selected as its new director. She replaces Imani Rupert-Gordon, who left the organization to become executive director of Affinity Community Services. Munar said Maley "brings a wealth of direct experience with her, as well as a background in trauma-informed restorative- and social-justice frameworks."
The news caps an eventful year for Howard Brown, which last August received a prestigious designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center, qualifying it to apply for grants under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act as well as enhanced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
In September 2015, Howard Brown announced that it would be taking over unused spaces in the Rogers Park building currently occupied by Gerber/Hart Library for a new North Side clinic. Howard Brown also announced, on March 15, plans for a new clinic on the South Side, to be called Howard Brown Health 63rd Street.
An extensive advertising campaign will be launched around the time of the Rogers Park clinic's opening, according to Munar, who added that the new facilities would hopefully ease wait-times and overcrowding. "We are outgrowing our existing facilities," he said.
Heartland Health Centers was given Howard Brown's Friend for Life Award for partnerships and assistance it has offered to the organization over the years. Caitlin White, who is lead clinical nurse at Howard Brown Health Sheridan, was presented with the Spirit Award for consistent excellence in her work, while the Digital Kitchen agency received the Heart of Howard Brown Award for their pro bono work rebranding the organization and designing its website. Munar was introduced by Howard Brown Board Chair Duke Alden.
