New Program at CIDNY: NY Connects

Deaf people signing over a white background.

NY Connects helps people with disabilities and seniors understand their long-term care options.

CIDNY recently hired 23 new staff members to complete our NY Connects team. The NY Connects team includes: a program director, an education and training coordinator, one program support, four borough managers, an outreach coordinator, two outreach workers, and 13 benefits counselors.

Our NY Connects team members speak 12 languages other than English. These include: Spanish, Greek, Arabic, ASL, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, and Romanian.

The staff identify with several disabilities, including but not limited to: learning disabilities, visual, hearing, and physical disabilities. Their backgrounds include: law, social work, human services, outreach, counseling, education, and emergency management.

CIDNY’s NY Connects Program’s goal is to link disabled New Yorkers with the resources to help meet their long term care needs. Benefits counselors will offer peer-centered counseling and connect disabled New Yorkers in each borough to local services and programs.

Through a comprehensive screening process, NY Connects benefits counselors provide personalized counseling. They help participants make informed decisions. They can assist in accessing available services and support options that meet existing or future long term needs.

CIDNY’s NY Connects partners with several ILCs throughout the city so we can have a physical presence in every borough. We also partner to get the word out about what NY Connects can do to serve the disabled population in our city.

CIDNY’s NY Connects is a trusted service to get free information about the range of supports that can help a person with disabilities (PWD) remain independent. This is available whether they want to live in their home, a nursing home, or other residential setting.

Who We Serve 

NY Connects serves individuals of all ages and income levels who want to learn more about long term services and supports in New York City. We serve:

  • Adults of all ages living with a long term disability
  • Adults with a disability regardless of income source(s)
  • Younger adults living with a long term disability
  • Caregivers of adults and parents of children with a disability
  • Professional service providers who work with someone in need of long term services and supports.

How to Contact Us for Help with Long Term Care Goals

Launching on September 1st 2017, the NY Connects benefits counselors can be reached at  844-862-7930.

Locations

Benefits counselors are available to help at our offices in Queens (80-02 Kew Gardens Rd, #400, Queens, NY 11415) and Manhattan (841 Broadway, Suite 301, New York, NY 10003).

We are partnering with other organizations to have convenient locations throughout the city:

In the Bronx at 4419 3rd Ave, Suite 2C, Bronx, NY 10457

In Brooklyn at 27 Smith Street, Suite 200, Brooklyn, NY 11201

In Staten Island at 56 Bay Street, Staten Island, NY 10301