SCAN-Harbor serves three of New York City’s “highest risk” communities:
Harlem, East Harlem and the South Bronx.
Our programs seek to respond to a convergence of socio-economic factors threatening to derail young people growing up in impoverished families with unemployed and under-educated parents or, more often, overwhelmed single mothers. Additionally, negative environmental influences such as parental incarceration, domestic violence, substance abuse, and rapidly deteriorating public schools often result in dismal academic performance, low career aspiration, and a pervasive feeling of hopelessness and disengagement.
Here are some of the challenges these communities face:
- The South Bronx (Congressional District 16) is the poorest district in our nation – 49% of children in the South Bronx live in poverty
- Over 85% of elementary and middle school students in the South Bronx’s School District 9 (the district served by SCAN-Harbor) failed the most recent NYS ELA tests, and over 80% failed the Math test
- East Harlem has the 2nd highest juvenile misdemeanor arrest rate in Manhattan – the 5th highest in NYC
- East Harlem is ranked as the highest risk community in NYC for child well-being
- Nearly 50% of East Harlem youth do not graduate from high school; more than 68% of youth in West Harlem do note graduate from high school
- In East Harlem’s Community School District 4 (the district served by SCAN-Harbor) 76% of children in elementary and middle schools failed the most recent NYS English Language Arts (ELA) test, and 74% failed the Math test
By annually serving over 7,600 children and 1,100 adults and families, through a wide variety of programs, we are on a mission to turn these statistics around.
But we can’t do it without your help! Now is the time to make a difference.