IRVINGTON, NJ — FamiCare founder Thecy Faustin is upset she did not receive the Community Development Block Grant funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development through the township of Irvington that she was accustomed to receiving during former Mayor Wayne Smith’s administration, but she is still determined to provide the organization’s services to Irvington’s Creole-speaking population.
“We moved from Central Avenue to Union Avenue. We visited Haiti with Ras Baraka after Hurricane Matthew,” said Faustin on Tuesday, Sept. 26. She is currently collecting items for children to send to Haiti, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands hit hard by recent hurricanes, and for the victims of the recent earthquakes in Mexico. “We do have a Haitian Relief Fund. It’s at Wells Fargo and it’s been there for 20 years. Using donations, we do make trips over there to help out whenever we can.”
FamiCare was originally founded to serve the local Haitian and Creole-speaking immigrant population and community, however Faustin said that has become much harder since her nonprofit organization has not been getting the kind of funding from grants and other sources administered by the township that it once did.
“It turns out that we did not get the CDBG money last year or this year. In 2016-2017, we applied and the council granted us $19,000,” Faustin said. “This year, John Sowell and Musa Malik decided not to give it to us. With the prior administration, they would give you the money, then you do the work, but with this administration, they ask you to do the work first, then pay you. But they haven’t paid us. We did the work and spent money, but they decided not to pay.”
The difference between the Smith and Vauss administrations, Faustin said, is how they handle CDBG and other funds. In the past, she said FamiCare “got our first $15,000 in federal funding from the township,” but that is no longer the case and it has affected many of the programs and services the organization is accustomed to providing for the Haitian community.
“Now it’s under the Economic Development Department. It used to be the Community Development Department. It’s HUD funding. They said I turned in my paperwork late, but that’s not true,” said Faustin. “We also give the ESL class and computer classes to kids that need assistance with the language. We’ve done a lot more stuff in trying to get the education and medical assistance that people need. We’ve done this for almost 25 years. We have youngsters that come back. We’ve done some good. The ESL and computer classes don’t stop.”
Faustin blames the loss of FamiCare’s CDBG funding on politics, not paperwork. Specifically, she said she believes it’s because she is not as connected to Vauss as other individuals that operate nonprofit organizations in Irvington.
“I really had a better and stronger relationship with the prior mayor,” admitted Faustin. “We had the situation where the director has been changed. Now, more than ever, when you’re doing an ESL class, you need to have people. We had to pay the ESL teachers a stipend. They did not refund us. This is a nonprofit; we cannot charge people for the services that we provide.”
Smith said that Faustin should not even have to consider charging her clients for the services FamiCare provides. He believes her concerns regarding why she was not awarded the crucial CDBG grants are valid.
“The question is: Who did they give it to, if they didn’t give it to her?” said Smith on Tuesday, Oct. 3. “They were the only Haitian-based social service provider in the town. They provided a vital service to a unique community. You can’t drive everything on politics. It’s got to be based on service the people. For years, we funded them. They did a lot of work and they did have a track record of providing those vital services. Obviously, they’re bilingual and that was a benefit and that’s how that goes.”
Vauss did not respond to Faustin, but allowed his assistant, John Sowell, to respond.
“The process is that HUD revised their process and there was a certain reporting form that all grant recipients have to complete and submit every month,” said Sowell on Tuesday, Oct. 3. “It’s a computerized form and that’s what Thecy needs to submit. She never submitted the report and I have a chain of emails that delineate that.”
The Irvington Herald did not receive copies of the emails that Sowell referred to by press time this week; however Sowell did discuss the new HUD record and reporting process.
“CDBG grants are open to any nonprofit organization that is providing service that’s Irvington- or county-based. The council has a grant committee that reviews grant applications as well, along with our director and the Mayor’s Office,” Sowell said. “I’m the assistant to the mayor. I got involved in Famicare’s case because the mayor directed me to conduct an investigation about what the concerns were with her application. The findings were that she did not follow the rules and regulations of the program. That’s why she did not receive a grant for the 2016-2017 grant year. She did not apply for the 2017-2018 grant year.”
Faustin’s other mistake, in addition to failing to comply with the new HUD reporting process, Sowell said, was not reapplying for a CDBG grant this year.
“Every year is different. You submit every year. We look at existing nonprofits, new nonprofits and then we review their applications and make determinations and suggestions. We have nonprofits that get grants, new ones, and existing ones that get grants on an ongoing basis. There’s no favoritism. You have to perform. You don’t just get things automatically,” said Sowell. “That’s why the reporting is so important, so that we know that the grant money was spent as it’s supposed to be spent, based on your performance matrix. We want to have the maximum impact on the community and the maximum impact is serving the most people.”
Sowell said politics had nothing to do with Faustin and Famicare not getting the CDBG funds last year or this year and did not play a role in the former review and award process during the Smith administration, which coincided with Sowell’s own terms serving as president of the Irvington Municipal Council.
“We’re just following the laws of the grant because we don’t want to be held in violation. We have to make sure that all the grant money we get is accounted for,” Sowell said. “The town has a responsibility to the federal government, that we are monitoring the money that we receive, that it’s spent the way that is should be spent. We have a responsibility; that’s why we keep reports. The biggest change was HUD. HUD revised their reporting process as well.”
Faustin said that FamiCare is currently soliciting donations to fund its programs and services.
“Basically, we’re asking the churches and the businesses in the township to step up and assist us. If any church or organization wants to sponsor the ESL class, we would be more than happy to accept it. We are asking any ESL-certified teacher that wants to donate their time to contact us. GED, too,” said Faustin. “We used to have it at the library. We paid $300 to use the history room, to hold the class. The immigrants are the majority of the people that come to us. When they come to Famicare, they bring all of their baggage.”
Famicare is located at 50 Union Ave. on the eighth floor. For more information, call 973-372-2273.
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