“David is our greatest joy and a blessing to our family,” proclaimed Edwin and Elizabeth, who started fostering their youngest at four months and is in the process of adopting him. With two loving parents and four foster siblings, Serenity, Grace, Lydia, and Edwin, Jr., playing their role in caring for two year old David,…

“Quintin will always be in a home where he is loved,” said Brenda Hopkins smiling broadly. With support from HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services (HSVS), Brenda fostered and adopted Quintin, an energetic, sweet boy who is now two years old. Brenda has known Quintin for most of his young life. “Three days after he was born,…

From waiting tables to working in a factory, 69 year old Fe did everything she could to support her four biological children. Fe adopted her daughter’s children when they were infants. Fe was raising children again and when reaching the challenging teenage years, seventeen year old Aixa and fifteen year old Miraida were struggling to…

“It was one month in and I said to myself, I love this baby,” said Tawannah Jordan, who fostered and will adopt three-year-old Ruben, who is wheelchair bound. Tawannah, who has been a transit worker for the past 25 years and experienced foster care herself, started her relationship with Ruben with weekly visits at St….

Seventeen year old Yvesa uses a wheelchair and has several chronic medical conditions. For Tanara, medical appointments were a hardship. As a working mom, it felt impossible to keep up with consistent schedule of Yvesa’s many medical appointments. Also, at times, Tanara would have to choose between groceries and taxi fare to bring her wheelchair-bound…

“Our entire life was destroyed,” said Alberta about the shock her family experienced discovering all was lost in their Coney Island home following Superstorm Sandy. “The first time I visited the house after the storm, I saw a photo of my daughter that had been carried by storm waters nearly halfway down the block. It…

Roy and his daughters, Julianna, 16, and Christina, 13, experienced an overwhelming personal loss in their family. When they first started attending counseling sessions at Bensonhurst Family Services, Roy, Julianna and Christina found it difficult to express how this loss deeply affected their lives. During art therapy sessions, Case Planner and Art Therapist Katie Hinson…

“We really just dived right in,” said Dalia Mechanic, who co-chairs the HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services’ (HSVS) Junior Board.

Photo Caption: HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services Chemical Dependence Clinic team includes credentialed counselors, clinical social workers, psychiatrists and nurses to help clients manage their struggle with addiction. (Staten Island, NY)—HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services has responded to the prescription drug epidemic on Staten Island with the expansion of its Chemical Dependence clinic at 56 Bay Street….

“Growing up, I learned that it’s always important to give back to others,” said Robert Serenbetz, Chair of HeartShare St. Vincent’s Services Junior Board. About 20 young professionals have joined together to fundraise, mentor and champion children and youth in foster care. Robert is leading those efforts. The Serenbetz Family Foundation’s generous charitable giving to…