The Rose F. Kennedy Family Center in Bedford Stuyvesant is our transitional residence for homeless, pregnant and parenting young women and their children. This is a 24 hour year long facility. Since its opening, the Center has served hundreds of women and children. Most residents struggle with a multitude of obstacles as they strive for self-sufficiency, independence and dignity. Program participants come from low socio-economic status, most do not have a high school diploma and many struggle with basic literacy skills. Many also report long histories of physical abuse, domestic violence, addiction and depression.


We are evaluated based on our ability to assure that residents acquire and maintain stable, permanent housing, nurture the healthy development of their children, enroll in an adult education program, job-training, or obtain employment, and develop the skills and resources for self-sufficiency and independent living.


All residents complete a program evaluation every six months.


As homelessness became a persistent problem for vulnerable populations in the 1980s, the organization received a seed grant from the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation in 1989 to develop the concept of a transitional residence for young mothers and their children. With the assistance of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, we received a grant from the New York State Homeless Housing Assistance Program to obtain and renovate a building, The Rose F. Kennedy Family Center, in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Located in a four-story brownstone, the Center, now funded through the Department of Homeless Services, the Patrina Foundation, Catholic Charities, the Independence Community Foundation and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, provides an intimate, homelike atmosphere where young mothers receive the necessary support to provide a stable environment for their children, obtain permanent housing and prevent a return to homelessness.


Addressing the ongoing need for affordable housing and the relatively short transition time allowed for homeless families moving into permanent homes, in 1998 the organization purchased, with financial support from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and Neighborhood Housing Services, a second building in Bedford Stuyvesant, the Rosa Parks Apartments, to offer affordable, permanent housing for young, vulnerable families. These facilities provide a necessary bridge, along with supportive services, to fill the gap between transitional housing and independent living.

At the shelter we also have an early care and childhood education program that that caters to infants through age 5 operates from 7AM - 7PM. The daycare is able to serve 21 children, some from the formerly homeless population as well as the general Bedford Stuyvesant community.

To facilitate attainment of self-sufficiency, an on-site day care staffed by caring and qualified professionals is included so that the mothers can attend school or job training, keep doctor's appointments, or visit apartments.

The center is housed in a four-story brownstone in Bedford Stuyvesant, and has an intimate, homelike atmosphere. It offers a nurturing and supportive environment.