Fridays 10:00am - 11:00am (EDT)
EPISODE SUMMARY:
Saeeda Dunston has served as Elmcor’s chief executive officer since August 2014. Recognized for her leadership in developing culturally competent programs for marginalized communities in New York State, her work focuses on empowering individuals and families to be active change agents in their communities.
Before joining Elmcor, Saeeda held several senior management positions throughout her career, addressing poverty, anti-racism, and healthcare needs in various New York City boroughs and citywide advocacy and policy-focused coalitions. She has played a vital role in enhancing Elmcor’s capacity through partnerships with public and private entities, addressing socio-economic and health disparities in Queens communities.
Saeeda has significantly contributed to developing and improving programs focused on behavioral health, health equity, social and economic justice, anti-stigma initiatives, and community education. Notably, she spearheaded Elmcor’s first supportive and affordable housing project, providing essential housing solutions to the chronically unhoused, individuals recovering from substance use disorders, and older adults. Additionally, her vocal, impassioned grassroots advocacy forged the groundwork that ultimately
prompted the inclusion of a funeral assistance fund operationalized in the Biden-Harris administration to support families who lost loved ones during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Black New Yorkers had the highest rate of overdose death in 2022, and the largest increase in rate from 2021 to 2022.
Approximately one in 1,000 Black New Yorkers between the ages of 55 and 84 died of a fatal overdose in 2022, a statistic more than twice the citywide rate.
Black men are 5x more likely to die of an opioid overdose in NYC compared to their white counterparts.
When it comes to confronting this epidemic in Black communities, we must acknowledge how the racial disparities in treatment of substance use disorder demand urgent attention. An anti-racist and effective approach that explicitly acknowledges the inherent healthcare inequality fueling the public health crisis devastating our communities is necessary in the fight to save lives
Tune in for this sensible conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
On the latest episode of Philanthropy in Phocus, host Tommy DiMisa celebrates his 199th episode by amplifying the impactful work of Elmcor, a Black-founded, Black-led nonprofit serving Queens for 60 years. CEO Saeeda Dunston shares her inspiring journey rooted in community-building, emphasizing that nonprofits must be led by those they serve and challenging traditional notions of charity and philanthropy. The conversation highlights the power of relationships, systemic change, and the importance of ensuring nonprofits have the resources they need to create lasting impact.
In this segment of Philanthropy in Phocus, Tommy DiMisa and Elmcor CEO Saeeda Dunston discuss the deep-rooted history of the organization, which was founded in 1965 by the East Elmhurst and Corona communities to address local challenges through self-sufficiency and grassroots action. Dunston highlights how Elmcor evolved from sports programs into substance use treatment, violence prevention, and social services—long before formal funding or government support existed—exemplifying true "people for the people" leadership. The conversation also touches on the importance of community-led solutions, the ongoing fight for equitable resources, and the lasting impact of nonprofits that empower those they serve.
In this segment of Philanthropy in Phocus, Tommy DiMisa and Saeeda Dunston discuss the urgent need to destigmatize behavioral health issues, particularly substance use disorders, emphasizing that addiction is a health condition, not a moral failing. Dunston highlights the racial disparities in overdose deaths, pointing out that Black and Brown communities are experiencing a growing crisis that lacks the same level of public attention and support as past opioid epidemics. She also showcases Elmcor’s proactive approach, including mobile treatment units, harm reduction programs, and community-based prevention efforts, urging nonprofits and supporters to amplify these conversations and advocate for equitable resources.
In the final segment of Philanthropy in Phocus, Saeeda Dunston emphasizes the broad impact of Elmcor, highlighting its services from early childhood education to senior support, youth sports, and housing initiatives. She calls on businesses and supporters to step up as government funding tightens, stressing that nonprofits cannot solve poverty with poverty. With their 60th-anniversary gala approaching on April 25th, she invites individuals and corporate partners to engage, support, and invest in community-driven solutions that create lasting change.
00:00:46.020 --> 00:00:47.040 Tommy DiMisa: Welcome back!
00:00:54.410 --> 00:00:55.569 Tommy DiMisa: And, as you know.
00:00:56.270 --> 00:01:01.290 Tommy DiMisa: I have to walk up 2 flights from the kitchen to get to the attic, you know, just below the roof of the house.
00:01:01.390 --> 00:01:03.729 Tommy DiMisa: and I'm not usually really out of breath.
00:01:04.250 --> 00:01:10.970 Tommy DiMisa: But there's people home, and there's a dog down there, and there's all that, because it's President's week, and it's a holiday week and all this kind of stuff.
00:01:11.220 --> 00:01:19.150 Tommy DiMisa: So I'm not even acting. I'm literally out of breath because the dog Cheetah wanted to go outside. I didn't have the time to do it, so I handed him to one of my sons.
00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:20.840 Tommy DiMisa: and now we're here
00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:30.119 Tommy DiMisa: every single week or not exactly in a row, but this is 199th episode. Every Friday morning I come up to the attic.
00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:41.419 Tommy DiMisa: and I have this opportunity and honor to meet with the lead of a nonprofit organization to help them tell their story and amplify their message. Sayeda Dunstan, CEO of Elm Core is here. Good morning, Sayeda. How are you?
00:01:43.450 --> 00:01:46.280 Saeeda Dunston: Good morning, Tommy. Catch your breath.
00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:46.919 Tommy DiMisa: I'm too.
00:01:48.050 --> 00:01:51.270 Tommy DiMisa: I'm seriously out of breath. I'm not even kidding. I'm not even playing games. Man.
00:01:51.800 --> 00:02:04.030 Saeeda Dunston: At your breath and congratulations on 199 episodes. Really, truly an accomplishment. I look forward to hearing the 200th episode. I'm sure it will be a blast.
00:02:04.030 --> 00:02:04.410 Tommy DiMisa: Yes.
00:02:04.410 --> 00:02:21.109 Saeeda Dunston: Good morning. Everyone out there listening. Sayeda Dunstan, CEO of Elmcore, youth and adult activities. We are the oldest black founded, black led nonprofit in queens. We are 60 years this year super excited, and thank you for having us, Tommy.
00:02:21.110 --> 00:02:50.869 Tommy DiMisa: I'm thrilled to have you. And I know it's your 60th anniversary. I mean, it's it's funny, like I saw something on there that on the website this morning, and it said something about 1981 and I go wait, wait, wait! And it wasn't referring to the founding. It was referring to something else. Go, wait a second. I was born in 78. I'm only 47, so 81 doesn't make 60, and then I had to go back. And I saw 1965, and things like that. What we do on this show is you and I have talked about. But some folks who may have found the program for the 1st time for the last 1 98 episodes every week. It's a leader of a nonprofit gang.
00:02:50.870 --> 00:03:08.209 Tommy DiMisa: They come on the show. We talk about their background, their journey. We talk about the organization that they lead the programs of that organization, the impact. And then ultimately, how can we help? How can you help listeners? You know, wherever you might be? Many of our listeners are East Coast.
00:03:08.210 --> 00:03:29.889 Tommy DiMisa: Long Island, New York City, based. Many are not so, and the majority of the shows we do are certainly east coast New York based. But not always so. It's all about relationships, all about connecting. I call myself the nonprofit Sector Connector, because that's what I'm all about. I've been connecting people my whole life, and now I get to do it with people who are literally changing the world.
00:03:29.890 --> 00:03:56.730 Tommy DiMisa: No offense to the financial world and stuff like that. I would spend every moment I can with the nonprofit sector hedge funds. Great. I love hedge funds when they help out and support nonprofit organizations. Right? We love that. But let's be honest. It's the folks in the nonprofit sector that are on the front lines doing the work. Elm Core is an organization that has been doing the work for 60 years. We're going to talk about that. We'll talk about the history of the organization. But before we get into that
00:03:57.330 --> 00:04:10.059 Tommy DiMisa: I want to meet my friend, my new friend, hopefully. You can call me a friend, but by 11 o'clock this morning, but we connected the night of the Queens Chamber of Commerce business person of the year event. I'm very close. In fact, last night
00:04:10.720 --> 00:04:16.019 Tommy DiMisa: I was at an Asian American Bar Association event in Bayside Queens.
00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:37.109 Tommy DiMisa: and our colleague, Tom Gretsch and Brendan Levy. Both of those guys from the Queen's chamber were at this event in Bayside last night. So you were one of the Honorees of the Queen's chamber business person of the year, as was my Buddy Brendan Levy. So that's how I came over to you, and I was like, love. Your story, love you to have you on my show. The whole thing. You get the whole Tommy D, like crazed situation, because I was just jazzed about meeting you
00:04:37.230 --> 00:04:51.490 Tommy DiMisa: and worked with your team to make this happen, so I'm excited that you're here, so I'm grateful for you. I know you said you were grateful for me. Let's get into it. Tell us about your journey. I always want to know. How does somebody get to the nonprofit sector? How did that start for you?
00:04:52.200 --> 00:04:59.700 Saeeda Dunston: Yeah. So I guess. My story or my journey is a big part of
00:04:59.750 --> 00:05:26.919 Saeeda Dunston: kind of who I am. I believe that you know, everyone's life is a story, and I come from a lot of storytellers, so I hope that I don't take too much time to talk about how I got here, but I think it's about who I am as a person is really how I got here. So my parents are both from Trinidad and so immigrants who moved to New York moved to Queens, originally into Corona, then into East Elmhurst, and
00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:40.849 Saeeda Dunston: I think, like most people having an immigrant experience, right. They wanted to make sure that their children were connected and all of the things, but because of it, and because of my Caribbean kind of culture there was always this
00:05:40.850 --> 00:06:05.080 Saeeda Dunston: need to be. A part of right, like community is a big thing for for us, and so like always making sure that you had people who were technically not your aunts, but they're your aunts, and like, so you like, learn early how to not so much give back to be. But to be a part right and, like and my parents also came out of the black power movement of the Caribbean as well. And so
00:06:05.100 --> 00:06:29.329 Saeeda Dunston: this kind of community builds. Community concept, I think, was just a part of my childhood. It didn't have a name. It surely didn't have a concept. It was just like this is what we do. And so we were born here, my sister and I, and then they sent us to Trinette for a few years, and then we came back. And so
00:06:29.490 --> 00:06:33.420 Saeeda Dunston: I've lived in these Elmhurst pretty much most of my life.
00:06:33.890 --> 00:06:50.619 Saeeda Dunston: and so the community itself is just a part of who I am, but the actual idea of nonprofit spaces. And it's the reason why. Here we kind of talk about the fact that Elmcor is a charitable designation, not a charity.
00:06:50.830 --> 00:07:14.849 Saeeda Dunston: And we say that specifically because charity was never built for the people it was actually ready to serve. It was built for the people providing the charity right? 1st it was your way into heaven, then it became your tax break. But you know, understanding that community knows what's best for community means that we organize. And so
00:07:14.850 --> 00:07:43.110 Saeeda Dunston: that's what Encore is. And so there's like this whole thing that resonated with me differently when I was here, because, as we talk about like how I got here, I got to the space where I wanted to be a part of community always building community from the idea that they know what's best, not outside entities, whether it's a funder or anyone telling you. You know you know what you need, and I got that from my family.
00:07:43.475 --> 00:08:04.159 Saeeda Dunston: I got that from my parents. I got it from my grandmother. I got it from my aunts, my uncles. I got it from my sister. I got it from everyone around me, and now, in the later stages of my life, I get it from my friends. I get it from my family. You know my my children, my husband, my like everyone, kind of helps me stay energized, and the idea that we know what is best for us.
00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:13.450 Saeeda Dunston: And that is kind of like my nonprofit journey I've worked in. It's funny to do radio and stuff. I've worked in entertainment.
00:08:13.760 --> 00:08:18.720 Saeeda Dunston: Because I started a nonprofit, and I was like they don't pay people enough for this.
00:08:18.900 --> 00:08:31.175 Saeeda Dunston: And so I ended up in the entertainment world for a few years, and then came back into the nonprofit space with a different mentality, also about
00:08:32.010 --> 00:08:50.289 Saeeda Dunston: the business of of nonprofits and understanding that it is a business. And you know you talked about hedge funds, and I loved when you said we love when they give us money, because one of the things that I always say, too, is, you can't solve poverty with poverty.
00:08:50.290 --> 00:08:55.800 Saeeda Dunston: You can't want to do this work and think that you know it's okay to not
00:08:55.800 --> 00:09:20.599 Saeeda Dunston: have the money to do so because a lot of the times, the people working in this work to reflect their communities right? And so if the community needs, then the staff needs. And so, you know, we always try to promote it. And that's why we don't call it charity right? It is the building of your own community building of community and assuring the community can sustain itself. And so that's
00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:24.010 Saeeda Dunston: kind of who I am, I guess, and how I got here.
00:09:24.140 --> 00:09:36.429 Tommy DiMisa: That I mean, this is like a master class right here, because this is I gotta be. I'm so open on the show. So I'm just gonna be totally open, as usual. So I call the show philanthropy and focus. And
00:09:37.170 --> 00:10:03.030 Tommy DiMisa: I took a course at the Institute for nonprofit practice a couple of years back, and I met some incredible people, my friend Maheen Kalim, from grantmakers for girls of color. My friend Michael Pardis, who's over at the Red Hook initiative was on the show a couple weeks ago, and I looked up the word philanthropy and then called my show philanthropy and focus way before there was a show. I went around talking about this for 2 years before it even happened right?
00:10:03.670 --> 00:10:08.360 Tommy DiMisa: And then 100 so episodes into the thing while I'm
00:10:08.920 --> 00:10:30.147 Tommy DiMisa: in sharing space with my colleagues at the Institute for nonprofit practice. I was like man. I don't know if this is the right name for the show, because this word philanthropy is a loaded word, right? You talked a little bit about what you know. Why quote unquote charities were created right? So maybe some folks could write big checks and feel good about themselves, and maybe get their way into heaven, and things like that. Right?
00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:32.910 Tommy DiMisa: I think about my reflection
00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:42.587 Tommy DiMisa: in conversations with Maheen Kaleem, for example, and how the community, like you said, knows exactly what it needs and knows what's best. So you know that
00:10:43.210 --> 00:11:09.119 Tommy DiMisa: that trust-based philanthropy right like. Don't question what we're doing, man. Give us the dough. Let us go, do it. We know what we need to do here like, just right, give us the resources because we know what's needed. And there's so many thoughts that come up for me with this, because I guess I don't know from your perspective, but it's a loaded word. That word philanthropy has a lot of meanings. Now, if you go back to like the Greek, it means love and right and compassion. But that's not exactly what it means all the time.
00:11:09.910 --> 00:11:15.840 Saeeda Dunston: Yeah, yeah, I think I think, what what you're talking about is is.
00:11:15.890 --> 00:11:41.349 Saeeda Dunston: it's a lot. It's not. The word is just loaded the whole, the whole system is loaded right? So another reason and one of the ways that we approach the work, and how I personally approach the work is, we're an anti-racist organization. I'm an anti-racist, right? And I always say I'm a Pre George Floyd murder anti-racist, right? And I say that specifically.
00:11:41.670 --> 00:11:44.229 Tommy DiMisa: This is not new, this whole thing right?
00:11:45.520 --> 00:12:01.799 Saeeda Dunston: You know, and I say it specifically, because after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, you saw a lot of organizations, including nonprofits, you know, start saying that they were anti-racist and utilizing terms.
00:12:01.920 --> 00:12:26.709 Saeeda Dunston: but never really understanding that that means that you're taking a systemic kind of approach and attack on systems, not people right? And so for a lot of folks they feel like, Oh, you know, anti-racism means that I'm not anti-black, right? And so, you know, I like black people. I love black folks, whatever, but it's so much deeper than that. It is looking at
00:12:26.710 --> 00:12:35.489 Saeeda Dunston: the systemic and institutional racism that has been a part of this for a long time, and we don't recognize race and racism as
00:12:35.490 --> 00:12:59.259 Saeeda Dunston: just about disliking folks. Right? It's race plus prejudice plus power right? And so the reason why you talk about language and why it's so important about philanthropy and why we're cognizant about it, and why we say we're anti-racist is because we know that we're here. We help people. Right? We do. We help people, we help individuals, families
00:12:59.260 --> 00:13:28.830 Saeeda Dunston: and community. But we're here to analyze and to assess and to make real conversations about the system that creates those types of situations right? And so when you talk about philanthropy and the fact that you could go back, and it could be love. Words can also be perverted in a power structure in order to get those who empower what they need, and give those who are not in power what they actually don't need.
00:13:28.980 --> 00:13:36.109 Saeeda Dunston: And so, you know, language is a powerful thing. We're seeing that now, all around this country.
00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:50.780 Saeeda Dunston: you know. Interestingly, with like the concept of Dei, right, we we saw that word be used post George Floyd, and murmur so much, and in less than what almost 5 years it could be
00:13:50.780 --> 00:14:15.779 Saeeda Dunston: wiped away. Right? Language is a very important thing. This is why talk shows and having conversation, and I'm happy that we're just talking is so helpful because language matters right. I know you do a lot of anti-stigma work around mental health services and mental health work. But language matters right? That's why it's important that you even analyze it. Right? Doesn't mean always, sometimes that you have to change the
00:14:15.780 --> 00:14:20.840 Saeeda Dunston: of something, but at least you're conscious, and you're having conversations about it. And I think that's important.
00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:45.750 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, yeah, thank you for all that. And thank you for just thank you for your candor, and thank you for calling out that piece about mental health which is critically important to me, and we know about that. And if you like this episode enough, maybe you come on that show that I do, hashtag ending the stigma which we do in studio, which would be, you know, a lot of fun, because I know a big part of what elm Corp provides is behavioral health services. And I was looking at a lot of that we'll get into that this morning. So much so much here. The Pd. Green Project
00:14:45.750 --> 00:14:59.459 Tommy DiMisa: Project. I don't know if you're familiar with that organization, but they're coming on the show, I think, in like 2 weeks and stuff like that, and that all comes out of somebody introducing me, a new friend of mine, Anna Erickson. We only know each other like 6 weeks, but she's
00:14:59.590 --> 00:15:25.749 Tommy DiMisa: she's very focused on social justice space. And she's like Tommy DI want to start to connect you with people. And it's just like it's all this is to me. It's all about connections and relationships and learning. And you know, there's just so much here. So I'm really appreciative that you're here with me today, and I know folks are definitely plugging in and learning from this conversation we got to take a quick break. We take literally 60 seconds. We come right back. We dive into it when we come back. I want to get into
00:15:25.760 --> 00:15:38.579 Tommy DiMisa: Elm Core. The history of the organization. Going back to you know, you mentioned a black power movement as it related to your family. But then, as it relates to the organization kind of the the genesis of this organization, let's get into that and break it down. How's that sound?
00:15:39.160 --> 00:15:40.060 Saeeda Dunston: Sounds, great.
00:15:40.060 --> 00:15:41.359 Tommy DiMisa: We're right back. Tommy, d.
00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:45.950 Tommy DiMisa: When you were 1st talking about your background and stuff like that, you said. You know people who are not like biologically, your aunts. But you know you treat them as that, and it's become like a community. Right? I was hearing. So the guy who's singing that song is not really my uncle, but I call him Uncle Brendan, because that's Uncle Brendan Levy from the Queens Chamber of Commerce. He's got a band called the Goods. They used to excuse me.
00:17:45.950 --> 00:18:02.740 Tommy DiMisa: They were called the goods back in the nineties when they had a record deal, but since they're older men now, they call themselves damaged goods. So that's my Uncle Brendan right there singing, and we wrote the lyrics together gang. I always say it was like the Lennon and Mccartney thing, but Brendan's the one that sings the song. So I know a little bit about uncles who are not really my uncles.
00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:25.160 Tommy DiMisa: I want to get into something when we get a chance later on. Hopefully, we can. You know, when you said you, you left the industry for the sector for a little bit, because you realize doesn't pay. Well, there's a whole that's probably a whole nother show. We could do just about the disparity there of folks not being paid in this industry where they should be. I don't want to get off topic right now. What I want to just talk about is people for the people.
00:18:25.560 --> 00:18:49.309 Tommy DiMisa: 1st of all you had the T-shirt on when we met the other day. I think you said there are not any hoodies we should fix that. I love hoodies. By the way, this is vanguard benefits. That's our company, everybody because employees matter. But I love wearing hoodies, and I. My new move is, if I got a couple of hoodies made up with our brand logo. I just like to wear this all the time, and this is my new uniform, for work is a hoodie so, but I got to get some of that.
00:18:49.670 --> 00:18:50.430 Saeeda Dunston: 2.
00:18:50.430 --> 00:18:51.480 Tommy DiMisa: What say it again.
00:18:51.840 --> 00:18:57.919 Saeeda Dunston: I'm sure our staff would like it, too, because then it doesn't have to figure out what you're gonna wear that day to work right.
00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:14.739 Tommy DiMisa: 100%. That's how I feel like I go out with now like this. This, is it? I could just be me, Tommy D authentically. So I think I need one of these shirts, at least for the T-shirts people for the people. So we got to work that out, and I'm not asking for one. I get you a check. Let me just. We'll do a transaction. So
00:19:15.390 --> 00:19:26.340 Tommy DiMisa: Talk to me about this organization. I like, I said. I started reading. It goes back. We talked about 1965 comes out of, you know, civil rights era. Right? So let's jump into that, please.
00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:42.530 Saeeda Dunston: Yeah. So the organization started in 1965, right? So like, we said, it's 60 years. This is also the 60th year of Malcolm X's assassination. And I say that because this community, East Elmhurst, was also the community that he lived in
00:19:42.550 --> 00:20:05.339 Saeeda Dunston: at the time of his death. And so it's, you know, there's this, this clear indication of what New York was like, what this community was like, what was going on. And so in 1965 in the East, Elmhurst, Corona Community, because that's what Elm Court stands for. Right? It's East Elmhurst and Corona, and I have to say East Elmhurst.
00:20:05.340 --> 00:20:18.530 Saeeda Dunston: because there's Elmhurst, and most people know Elmhurst, but they don't know that there's something called an East Elmhurst, and those folks us who are from East Elmhurst. We get real territorial, and we're like, no, it's not Elmhurst. It's East Elmhurst.
00:20:18.530 --> 00:20:47.250 Tommy DiMisa: That's how we are queens. Queens is neighborhood centric man, you know, like I grew up in Bellrose when when I got married. We, you know I lived in grew up in that. Excuse me, I was born for my 1st couple years in Bellrose Queens, and then, when I got married, I moved back to Glen Oaks, Bellrose area. And we we're very town focused like I think, Brooklyn people say I'm from Brooklyn, you know. Maybe they say bedsty do or die, or something like that. But I feel like queens is like man. I'm from Corona, right? I'm from Jamaica, or like you know what I'm saying about queens.
00:20:47.490 --> 00:21:00.438 Saeeda Dunston: I think it's a very New York thing. I think we're so kind of homogeneous about our hoods that I like. It's just like we? We rep differently. But
00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:26.010 Saeeda Dunston: yeah. So Elm Court is East Elmhurst and Corona. That's where the name came from. And so it was. The 2 communities that built the organization in 1965. And so people for the people kind of was a term that really came out of the substance use, treatment and prevention work that was happening within elm core. But Elmcore started originally with baseball.
00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:52.130 Saeeda Dunston: and so a lot of folks know the organization from a sports perspective now from basketball, without recognizing that in 65 they opened with baseball, and Cecil Watkins, who is one of the founders, really was working for Parks department and was like, let's do recreation because specifically young black boys in the community were, you know, kind of falling victim to violence and
00:21:52.130 --> 00:22:20.780 Saeeda Dunston: heroin use at the time and things of that nature. And so the community itself said, you know what? We're going to provide our own services. There was no why, there was nothing happening out here. We'll use the parks. We'll use what we have, but we'll build something for our young people so kind of have an alternative to quote unquote gang violence at the time, and things like that. And the reason why I started with baseball is as much as we watch basketball now, and we feel like it
00:22:20.780 --> 00:22:38.150 Saeeda Dunston: is the black sport in our heads. The reality of it is baseball was the 1st sport that young black boys could see themselves playing professionally because the crossover happened there first.st Right? And so Jackie Robinson, all of that stuff
00:22:38.150 --> 00:23:02.260 Saeeda Dunston: was kind of, and so baseball was a sport that young black boys played, and a few months later they started doing basketball. A little while after that they started to do drug treatment on their own right. This is before there was licenses and funds, and you know it was a storefront, and people who were actually recovering from substance use disorders. Kind of just
00:23:02.360 --> 00:23:05.520 Saeeda Dunston: was doing the treatment itself for people in the community.
00:23:05.520 --> 00:23:23.819 Tommy DiMisa: So they didn't have. They weren't quote unquote, certified, didn't have a background in it. They would. That was like. But that was like, I guess, beginning of the the peer advocate right? Like I just did doing you know where right where I am. You know you will be. You know where you are. I once was that sort of right on, you know.
00:23:23.820 --> 00:23:37.959 Saeeda Dunston: It was no licenses, no like none of that stuff. It was like, you know, what are you gonna do to get the folks in your community healthy and work on their wellness. And so it was a very different approach.
00:23:37.960 --> 00:24:02.949 Saeeda Dunston: On 101st and northern Boulevard was a very large Black Panther chapter, and so many of the people who are part of the genesis of this organization were young 1718 year old panthers who wanted to uplift their community, and they were working with older folks like Otley Brownbill and Cecil Watkins and Luke Benson, and there were all of these older folks, our assemblymen, who just retired from
00:24:02.950 --> 00:24:25.589 Saeeda Dunston: Jeffrey on Orprey, was the executive director. Here in the eighties was the educational director in the seventies. We just got shout out to my group, my Comms team, Michael Franklin team. We finally yesterday were able to see a video that Leanna Lee, who's our chief program officer who's been here for decades.
00:24:25.590 --> 00:24:33.049 Saeeda Dunston: had been telling me about a short film that Encore had done back in the day called 30 min from Harlem.
00:24:33.050 --> 00:24:45.779 Saeeda Dunston: and we couldn't find it, and we found it last year in the African American Smithsonian in DC. And we couldn't get a copy. And yesterday my Comms team was actually able to get a copy of it. We will be showing it.
00:24:45.780 --> 00:24:48.919 Tommy DiMisa: What are you gonna do? You're gonna make a big like a showing somewhere in theater.
00:24:48.920 --> 00:25:16.880 Saeeda Dunston: Oh, yeah, we're definitely going to do that. We're gonna we're actually trying to do a documentary. Because the history here in this neighborhood in this organization is so rich. You know. The 1st black Queensborough President, Helen Marshall, is an elm core alum. She's a part of the folks who helped found Elmcore in the community, worked at Elm Core at some point through manpower, like just a lot of rich history that
00:25:17.210 --> 00:25:44.699 Saeeda Dunston: is not just known. But the organization started people for the people. Right? Like, literally, we know what's wrong. We know what's going on, and we know how to help. So before, before there was, you know, violence interruption programs in the way that we see them now. Core had been doing it before. There was drug treatment programs in the way that we see them now. Encore had been doing it encore had been doing food programs, you know.
00:25:44.700 --> 00:26:04.340 Saeeda Dunston: Free breakfast was being done at Encore childcare was being done at encore. All of those things were happening. Our older adult center is the one that you saw from 1981. That was what that date was. This is prior to there being an office of the aging at the city right?
00:26:04.340 --> 00:26:26.809 Saeeda Dunston: We were doing older adult clubs without the funding. All of the stuff that Encore had been doing was happening without funding. They purchased the properties on Northern Boulevard to gut it out themselves like when you see this documentary and you see them literally building their own drug treatment program right
00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:45.680 Saeeda Dunston: by hand, in their community members doing this like that is the history of this organization. And so for us we know it is. It is worthy, because most nonprofits, especially those started by black and brown people in the sixties, do not still exist now
00:26:46.020 --> 00:26:49.280 Saeeda Dunston: right, but Elm 4 has been able to withstand time.
00:26:49.280 --> 00:27:12.979 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah. So 1st of all, thank you for a lot. I love the stories, and that's what I love about doing. This show is to be able to have those stories and be able to tell those stories and just the longevity and the sustainability of the organization like you're talking about is so important to shine that light on. And as you're telling the story, like I see in my mind, like I like to see the vision right? So like, I see the folks doing the work and getting it together, and
00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:30.649 Tommy DiMisa: it just goes back to you know what what it is there people for the people, but it just goes back to the community, knows how to hook up and sort out what they need. Right? Like not. Maybe this is the wrong word. But maybe we don't need the interlopers to come in like we got this thing. But like, you know, but but there has not been given the same resources right.
00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:44.230 Saeeda Dunston: Sorry. I'm sorry I have to have to make a joke. It's so, as you said, that we don't need the interlopers. My kids will hate this. So, my husband. I know you have children as well. I have adult children. I don't know how old your kids are.
00:27:44.230 --> 00:27:45.009 Tommy DiMisa: Adults, yeah.
00:27:45.760 --> 00:27:51.399 Saeeda Dunston: When my adult children come home he'll call me and be like the interloper here. So.
00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:54.400 Tommy DiMisa: Your husband says. They say that about themselves.
00:27:54.830 --> 00:27:59.300 Saeeda Dunston: No, my husband, he'll call me, and he'd be like that.
00:27:59.300 --> 00:28:25.360 Tommy DiMisa: That kind of like a sign be like, say, maybe you don't want to come home. Maybe you just stay there, you know. Thank you for making light of the whole thing, because I was probably getting a little too heavy, anyway. But it's like that sort of thing. It goes to that word philanthropy for me again, and it's like, No, no, we know what we need, but you and I and many of the folks who are on the open-minded and awareness side of things know that things were not fair, and we're not set up gang. If you don't believe that, please.
00:28:25.360 --> 00:28:35.930 Tommy DiMisa: I hate to say this, but don't even come back to the show because you don't get what this is. If we're still arguing about that stuff. I don't know, man, I can't even be. Maybe that's maybe that's small minded of.
00:28:35.930 --> 00:28:36.570 Saeeda Dunston: Oh, wait!
00:28:37.250 --> 00:28:47.989 Saeeda Dunston: It's not that. It's small minded, but the reality is we had an entire change in administration federally. That says a lot of people don't believe that.
00:28:47.990 --> 00:28:52.519 Tommy DiMisa: And that. Well, that's and that's the thing. And and it's 1 of these things like.
00:28:52.630 --> 00:29:06.340 Tommy DiMisa: I don't want to. This is going to sound so immature you can't change stupid. I don't know. Man. Point of the matter is, this thing was not set up equally gang period and a story right. So
00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:09.739 Tommy DiMisa: I'm on a rant here. I'm trying to pull it back. Say that
00:29:09.950 --> 00:29:27.260 Tommy DiMisa: the the just, the the fact that the community knows and can do this work and and has done this work is critically important. However, then there is, here's what I where I got to go, because this is like full arc for me. We talk. We start this off. I mentioned hedge funds. I don't know why that came out right.
00:29:27.860 --> 00:29:48.169 Tommy DiMisa: I need to ask you, as somebody who grew up in East Elmhurst. And you tell me this organization is about it started out with baseball. You gotta tell me that you root for the metsies and and a lot of the Elm Court folks are mets fans. Please don't tell me you're a Yankee fan, because I know what's gonna stop. Don't make that face for real.
00:29:49.140 --> 00:29:50.195 Tommy DiMisa: How.
00:29:51.800 --> 00:29:52.860 Saeeda Dunston: Long story.
00:29:54.760 --> 00:29:56.290 Tommy DiMisa: Are you a Yankee fan.
00:29:57.320 --> 00:29:58.050 Saeeda Dunston: I am.
00:29:58.050 --> 00:30:02.739 Tommy DiMisa: My goodness, folks, it was great! We'll be back next week, see you all. I'm just kidding.
00:30:02.740 --> 00:30:23.720 Saeeda Dunston: But I am a true lover of the Mets and you know, and what they're able to do, not just as a baseball team. But as an organization. And the new leadership there at that stadium has transformed a lot in our community that we didn't have that relationship before. And so because of it. They are making me
00:30:24.375 --> 00:30:24.680 Tommy DiMisa: Method.
00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:29.889 Saeeda Dunston: I'll always. I'll always be a Yankees fanatic.
00:30:29.890 --> 00:30:55.279 Tommy DiMisa: Well, I know my friend Mick Collins is listening. He was named after Mickey Mantle. I give Mick a hard time all the time, but Mick actually is with a company called Pay it forward Processing their Merchant Processing Company. I've done some work with. They do credit card processing, and they give back a portion of their, the proceeds back to nonprofit organizations. So I always like to give Mick a plug, especially when the Mets and Yankees conversation come up. But what I wanted to say real quick about that, too, was.
00:30:55.280 --> 00:31:01.079 Tommy DiMisa: you know, Uncle Steve, we call him, although he's really not my uncle. I don't even know Steve Cohen, but the gang at the Queen's Chamber knows him
00:31:01.080 --> 00:31:21.550 Tommy DiMisa: but him and Alex and I met their son Josh a couple weeks ago. That's a whole nother story. It'll take us on a tangent. But Mick Collins, check in on Youtube. Yes, go, Yankees. There it is. Thanks, Mick. I knew you were. You were out there, you know. I met Josh Cohen a couple weeks ago at an event like right before the New Year, and they're so philanthropic.
00:31:21.550 --> 00:31:37.960 Tommy DiMisa: They're so involved in the community and things like that. And that is, you know, some of the good folks in that hedge fund world, as I sort of called out, that are doing the work that are doing the give back and being a met fan right now. It's pretty exciting to be a met fan with that with the activity that's going on. Yeah, there's a lot.
00:31:38.300 --> 00:31:40.679 Saeeda Dunston: As you guys stole our guy. Yeah.
00:31:40.680 --> 00:32:10.489 Tommy DiMisa: See, we just stole like it was a robbery like like we just went up there and picked them up and kidnapped them from you know, from the cathedral up there in the Bronx. Sure, that's what happened, Miss Dunstan. We got to take a quick break. I love talking with you. I really like breaking it down and having this conversation, I agree with you. These are important dialogues that must continue to happen on a regular basis. We'll take a quick break. Although I probably overextended this segment, which is part of the show. We always run out of time. We never run out of words
00:33:43.290 --> 00:34:10.169 Tommy DiMisa: Bopping. I saw you bopping a little bit, so I think you're starting to dig the song. I think you're digging it, man, where you know. It's funny. All my other 2 shows on. Well, there's a 3, actually, but the one you know, ending the stigma together and the new show, Long Island change makers. I got these Reggae tunes to like kind of chill out, because, you know, that's kind of where I resonate on that on that frequency. So I'm glad to have you here. I'm glad we're really breaking it down. Having this conversation, you know, as I look at the website, too
00:34:10.170 --> 00:34:32.939 Tommy DiMisa: behavioral health services. Let's go there real quick, if we could, because you know what I'm on this mission. I almost wore one of those hashtag ending the stigma T-shirt shout out to Fred Taffer and Erica Taffer, who put that together? The Logos for me! Shout out the team at North Shore TV for giving me a platform. We've done 7 episodes. I haven't put any of them out there yet, but we've done 7 episodes of hashtag ending the stigma. So let's talk about that because
00:34:33.460 --> 00:34:42.000 Tommy DiMisa: I we don't talk about it. Enough is my contention. So tell me about how you see the world through the organization and other things.
00:34:42.810 --> 00:35:06.599 Saeeda Dunston: Yeah. So I want to say, Umcor is a part of that. Hopefully, the movement to end stigma around behavioral health or mental health substance use disorders literally just chronic health conditions of the brain. One of the things that we find so interesting is the stigma that revolves around health conditions
00:35:06.780 --> 00:35:31.900 Saeeda Dunston: about the one organ in your body that is the mainframe for everything right? And and there's no stigma about heart disease. There's no stigma about liver disease. But this, this one, this one part that literally keeps everything moving is the one part that we want to stigmatize because it does control how people
00:35:32.020 --> 00:35:55.810 Saeeda Dunston: outwardly behave right? And so because of that, we we come from this place. But it's because we moralize a lot of these things right? It's it is. We talk about stigma as if it's a separate thing. But it's the moralizing of society, of what we do in society, right? We moralize people's behavior. We tell them what's right and wrong. We tell them what they should and shouldn't do.
00:35:55.810 --> 00:36:17.889 Saeeda Dunston: We ultimately take away people's agency without knowledge. It's just so customary and normal and normalized to take people's identity away, that we've gotten to the point where we don't recognize that the things that make me who I am are the things that you're judging right. And so
00:36:18.210 --> 00:36:41.749 Saeeda Dunston: it is. It's an interesting thing. It is something we have to, really. And that's why, you know, I said as anti-racist. We don't look at individuals. We look at systems. That is a societal issue. That is a systemic issue. So you know, I could feel like people with mental health disorders, or that people with a substance use disorder, that it is a health condition.
00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:56.430 Saeeda Dunston: But that doesn't mean everyone believes that because society has had generations and centuries of a belief process that's going to take us a lot of time to deconstruct the good thing. And the reason why we say we do anti stigma work.
00:36:56.430 --> 00:37:15.850 Saeeda Dunston: anti-racist work. All that stuff is because anything that was constructed can be deconstructed right? So we know that these are constructs. We know that the constructs of understanding the mind is a particular way, and so we can deconstruct these things. We just have to be able to do that
00:37:15.850 --> 00:37:35.219 Saeeda Dunston: for us right now, we're also really pushing. As I said, the organization came out of the heroin epidemic in 1965. And now in 2025, 60 years later, black men over the age of 55 are dying at 5 times the rate
00:37:35.220 --> 00:37:57.279 Saeeda Dunston: of their white counterparts from overdose, and for us that should be like. And so thank you, Tommy, for allowing us on. We take any opportunity, in any medium, at any time to have this conversation, because no one is talking about it, and we talk about Fentanyl. We talk about overdose.
00:37:57.280 --> 00:38:26.889 Saeeda Dunston: but I would just be very honest and transparent. But about 7, 8 years ago, when you know and I'm happy. A lot of your listeners are from Long Island and from Queens. But when young white men were dying in Long Island and Staten Island, and all of those places. I couldn't see enough of it on TV, right? Like it was everywhere. There was wonderful town halls that were done in media and real conversations.
00:38:26.890 --> 00:38:40.099 Saeeda Dunston: and it was no longer criminalized. It was seen as a health issue that needed some help. But we have a public health crisis right now, with black and brown people dying at astronomical rates.
00:38:40.100 --> 00:39:02.740 Saeeda Dunston: and we're happy that our white brothers and sisters are seeing a decline in those overdoses in those communities. But we need the same level of resounding noise, because there's something to me super sad of a black man dying at 57 and 58 from an overdose. Typically people who have chronic health conditions.
00:39:02.740 --> 00:39:21.280 Saeeda Dunston: who've had this chronic substance use disorder for decades, which means it sounds terrible, but it's true. I'm a harm reductionist as well. So I speak about drug use like, I love people who use drugs right like I don't talk about them any differently than I talk about anyone else.
00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:27.329 Saeeda Dunston: and so like anything. If I've been using that long, I know how to use
00:39:27.330 --> 00:39:52.329 Saeeda Dunston: right? Like I literally know how to use to not die. And so, if I've made it to 50, something years old, and now I'm dying from from something I know how to do. We know that there's something wrong. We know that the supply is tainted. We know that this is not a choice. We know that this is something that needs this level of noise.
00:39:52.330 --> 00:40:08.529 Saeeda Dunston: So for us right now, part of our behavioral Health Crusade is to just say, we have to talk about this. We don't want to be distracted with conversations about tariffs, and we don't wanna don't want to be distracted because black
00:40:08.530 --> 00:40:23.592 Saeeda Dunston: black people are dying. Brown folks are dying. Our indigenous people, brothers and sisters are dying at higher rates, and we need to. 60 years later we're having the same conversation, and people are dying, and so
00:40:24.270 --> 00:40:35.820 Saeeda Dunston: Anti-stigma work is, as we say, is saying, that this, these are your people, and we got to love them right. We have to love people who use drugs. We have to.
00:40:36.270 --> 00:40:36.740 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.
00:40:36.740 --> 00:40:37.479 Saeeda Dunston: And I'm.
00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:58.463 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, thank you for all that. And I have questions about it. But I just want to make a statement really quick, too, because I. I share this a lot. So I'm sober now. 14 years, everybody, and I tell you that not for the accolades and the applause and all that stuff, but I say it because you know it's work, and it's work, and it's work. And it's work every day, man. So
00:40:58.810 --> 00:41:24.420 Tommy DiMisa: And you talk about harm reduction. You talk about people who've used for years. We talk about wordplay, you and IA little bit, and you know, overdose these folks were poisoned right like this is not exactly you said, like these are users, you know, and and again you and I, I think, see the world through a lens of compassion and love for people versus like that person's a junkie which somebody else might say right? So.
00:41:24.420 --> 00:41:27.530 Saeeda Dunston: Yeah, eliminate that kind of language.
00:41:27.530 --> 00:41:29.680 Tommy DiMisa: You know what I'm what I'm saying.
00:41:30.170 --> 00:41:36.140 Saeeda Dunston: Oh, no, we no, I get it, and that's why I'm saying we eliminate the language because it allows you. Just think about the word
00:41:36.560 --> 00:41:39.819 Saeeda Dunston: junky, right? It's junk. It's garbage. You can throw.
00:41:40.070 --> 00:41:41.310 Tommy DiMisa: It's dismissive. I don't have.
00:41:41.310 --> 00:41:42.040 Saeeda Dunston: With
00:41:42.250 --> 00:41:52.699 Saeeda Dunston: you could literally throw it away. And that's why I said, we love our people right like we don't throw our people away right like we just.
00:41:53.070 --> 00:41:53.425 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.
00:41:54.470 --> 00:42:21.749 Tommy DiMisa: words have meaning, and you can dismiss that. If that's how you treat somebody right versus we look into somebody and say, I love you. I see where you're at. Let me try and see where you where we could be supportive. So it's a it's a bigger thing than somebody took too much one day. It's a it's a matter of fact that they were poisoned right? And and that's really it. How do you see? I mean, I think the biggest thing is education. But like, how do you see us getting the word out, so to speak. And how can we help here?
00:42:22.380 --> 00:42:42.939 Saeeda Dunston: Yeah, so one things like this. And I would even say, conversations in your kitchen, in your sports clubs, and whatever it is we need to talk about it like just we need to talk about it. And that's anti-stigma work is actually the same way we normalized
00:42:44.400 --> 00:42:59.309 Saeeda Dunston: the same way we normalize judging folks for their use, or judging people because they were sad. Depression is depression, right? Or judging people because they hear voices, or whatever the same way we did that
00:42:59.310 --> 00:43:16.520 Saeeda Dunston: we can do the opposite. We can have conversations about all these things from a very compassionate way, but I do want to talk a little bit about what Elm Court is doing just boots on the ground to kind of address these issues. So one of the things that we have is a 35 foot mobile treatment unit
00:43:16.520 --> 00:43:38.790 Saeeda Dunston: that goes anywhere throughout the borough of queens and actually does drug treatment work in community. And we go to communities that most people don't see as a high use community. But we know that in in the hidden parts of all communities that there's that's our unit right there.
00:43:38.790 --> 00:43:44.040 Tommy DiMisa: Watching. Sorry to interrupt you said. I'm sharing the the. Is it a boss? It's like a Rv. Right.
00:43:44.520 --> 00:44:07.860 Saeeda Dunston: Yeah, it's a 35 foot. Yeah, it's a huge. It's a huge piece. It's got counseling rooms in there. It's got an exam room in the back. We have peers that ride on here. We have a nurse practitioner that's able to actually do inductions for medication, assisted treatment in community. We have a counselor that's able to do that, and we work with people who are actively using at the time in the community.
00:44:07.860 --> 00:44:16.390 Saeeda Dunston: We do a lot of narcan trainings. We, you know, make sure that. And then we do prevention work as well. Right? We always talk about treatment. But
00:44:16.400 --> 00:44:46.250 Saeeda Dunston: we do a lot of prevention work. We push into the schools. Throughout throughout queens we have the only youth Recovery clubhouse in the Borough of Queens, which means young people who identify as being in recovery, or quote unquote at use of using substances, which means every young person gets to come into our building in a drop in center style, and you know they're just they're able to come and hang out. We are going to be opening our
00:44:46.250 --> 00:45:11.099 Saeeda Dunston: expanding, I should say our outpatient services to be able to do Methadone. There is not enough medication assisted treatment throughout this borough specifically, and so we're excited to be able to do as much as we can, we opened our very 1st supportive and affordable housing project. We're super proud of ourselves for that, but more proud of the fact that the way that we built that building. We have
00:45:11.100 --> 00:45:21.950 Saeeda Dunston: people who have mental health or substance use disorders chronically homeless in the same building with older adults. Right? Because we believe if you keep community together.
00:45:22.230 --> 00:45:34.689 Saeeda Dunston: they will recover from all things, because we're all in recovery from something, and that's a part of the destigmatizing the idea of of language. Recovery is not for
00:45:34.800 --> 00:45:40.729 Saeeda Dunston: people with substance use disorders. Recovery is for all of us, because we're all recovering from something.
00:45:40.730 --> 00:46:04.830 Tommy DiMisa: There's some trauma for sure. We're all. We've all experienced, some trauma, and it's all relative to you to you as an individual. Everybody know that, you know, and if you are, we did some shows, and 988 is the number. If if you come to the show, and somehow you need support. 988 help is there? That's the suicide and crisis lifeline. Call that number, you know. I just wanted to put that out there. It felt like the moment was appropriate to do that.
00:46:04.930 --> 00:46:21.290 Tommy DiMisa: So I want to get to one more thing before we go to a quick break you had mentioned, and I interrupted you there. But there's you get into communities that maybe my words but like maybe on the surface, wouldn't look like they're affected by substance, abuse, and things like that. Talk about that real quick! If you could.
00:46:22.175 --> 00:46:37.459 Saeeda Dunston: Yeah, sure, one of the neighborhoods, and I hope no one gets mad at me. But one of the communities that we take the mobile unit to in the past and have been is an area in Queens Bayside. Right? Bayside is. Is not Corona right? Like people?
00:46:37.840 --> 00:46:38.729 Saeeda Dunston: You know
00:46:38.880 --> 00:46:55.610 Saeeda Dunston: I will date myself a bit. I remember when Northern Boulevard was called Cocaine way, as many people in queens who could remember that. Remember that? And so there was this concept and this idea that you know this is where you came
00:46:55.800 --> 00:47:01.139 Saeeda Dunston: to to cop drugs and to use it. But
00:47:01.170 --> 00:47:25.750 Saeeda Dunston: the reason why it was considered. That was because it cut through queens in such a way that you could get to every place in the city. It wasn't just queens, and so there's parts of queens where there is substance use, but it's very hidden. And sometimes we know the spots where folks are under the trestle. You know the areas that we don't want to act as if we know our people are there. But
00:47:25.750 --> 00:47:49.289 Saeeda Dunston: there are people right, our people, our human family is somewhere. And so we take this unit and we go to those spaces. And then we go to spaces that everybody knows right? There's a triangle right across from Jamaica Hospital. We're there. Everyone knows that's a high use space. But we go to where people are. We go to the rockaways because for a rockaway is
00:47:49.290 --> 00:47:50.060 Saeeda Dunston: far.
00:47:50.481 --> 00:47:55.680 Saeeda Dunston: And many people don't want to go onto the Peninsula, but we will go.
00:47:55.680 --> 00:47:59.580 Tommy DiMisa: And there's Limited. There's there's limited resources down there, you know, as far as.
00:47:59.580 --> 00:48:00.220 Saeeda Dunston: It's.
00:48:00.220 --> 00:48:23.199 Tommy DiMisa: Services, you know, down on the Peninsula. So we we know that. And and you know, this is one of the reasons why you and you'll probably say your organization were honored at the you know the Queens Chamber of Commerce Event a couple months back is because you're doing this important work in community. We do have to take a quick break, because I've overextended us again. This is part of the show, but we take a quick break. I would just want one thing before we take a break I did mention earlier.
00:48:23.200 --> 00:48:37.550 Tommy DiMisa: I was in Bayside last night. I'm on the board of the Bayside business Association. My business partner, Ed. Probst, is the president of the Bayside Business Association. In fact, that's how I met Vanguard many, many years ago, 20 years ago. In fact, 22 years ago. As I look at the calendar.
00:48:37.900 --> 00:48:55.189 Tommy DiMisa: If there's support we can bring with the Bba. The Bayside Business Association to Elm core will will collaborate offline when we come back. I just want to talk about what's upcoming for the organization, how we can impact, how we can collaborate what we could bring, you know, I say, we I mean people who don't know you yet. And now do that sort of thing. How's that sound?
00:48:55.820 --> 00:48:56.620 Saeeda Dunston: Sounds, great.
00:48:56.620 --> 00:49:00.090 Tommy DiMisa: We will be right back. Philanthropy in focus.
00:50:37.020 --> 00:51:01.969 Tommy DiMisa: I get to feature a nonprofit organization, tell their story, and then this part of the show is like, when I get to live out my dream. Say to Dunstan, you probably don't know, but when I was a little boy I didn't want to be an astronaut. I didn't want to be a fireman. I wanted to be a game show host. So this is the lightning round baby. This is the lightning round. We're going to get right after it. We're going to get to it. What can we tell people about? How can we help? Who do you want to meet? Who's a good collaborator like.
00:51:01.970 --> 00:51:21.249 Tommy DiMisa: I'm sitting here thinking Dr. Larry Grubler from Tsi. I think we talked about him the other day. Very good friend of mine Venture House. They're a client of mine. We do the benefits for their employees. Are you familiar with Venture House? Right? Yes, I am. These are the kind of folks that I hang with already. So how can we help? What's upcoming? Talk about the gala? This is your time to tell me what's up.
00:51:21.370 --> 00:51:21.950 Saeeda Dunston: Yeah.
00:51:22.040 --> 00:51:31.549 Saeeda Dunston: So, thanks Tommy. And one of the things I do want to say, I know that we talked a lot about me, the history and then about behavioral health services. But
00:51:31.550 --> 00:51:56.379 Saeeda Dunston: I want to kind of talk about the breadth of the organization just in case you're listening. And you're like, yeah. Well, you know, substance use behavioral health services. Mental health. Okay? Fine. Yeah. Great history. Wonderful. She might be kind of cool. But the thing about it is I want to also say is that we're a lifespan organization. So we work with people as little as 3 and as old as 103. So if you haven't quite seen where you fit in yet.
00:51:56.380 --> 00:52:17.209 Saeeda Dunston: or how you can support, or where you see the connection, Tommy, if you talk about being a connector. If you can't see the connection. We have 4 older adult centers in Corona, in Jackson Heights and left Rock and East Elmhurst. So we work with our older adults, making sure that they get congregate meals, that we go meet those who are homebound, that we're connecting.
00:52:17.210 --> 00:52:22.389 Saeeda Dunston: If you're a person and feels like you want to support people doing older adult work. That's us.
00:52:22.390 --> 00:52:47.280 Saeeda Dunston: If you're a person who loves youth services. And you're like, you know, I really like young people. We have a 3 k. 4 K. Preschool in Jamaica. So if you're from South Queens, and you're hearing all this North Queens stuff. And you're saying, Yeah, not really for me. Don't worry. We got you, too. So we have a 3 k. 4 K. In Jamaica, where we work with our really young people. We were so excited to bring preschool back. It was a part of the genesis of the organization we had in
00:52:47.280 --> 00:53:08.210 Saeeda Dunston: done it for for some time and was really excited to be able to help future change leaders right like for us, we're creating change agents. We're not just providing schooling. And so hence, why, the name of the preschool is rising. Scholars, right? We're helping them rise into their to their
00:53:08.300 --> 00:53:27.460 Saeeda Dunston: their future positive excellence spaces. And so we have preschools, and, as I said, we push into the schools. Whether it's public private, we push into schools to do prevention work. We have the youth recovery clubhouse. I did talk about the fact that we started with sports we have.
00:53:27.720 --> 00:53:52.699 Saeeda Dunston: We have a basketball, aau, very competitive basketball team. We also have a softball team for young women women in sports is very big right now. It was one of the things I wanted to make sure when I got came here 10 years ago that we kind of did, because Elmport did a great job with sports with the young men, but as a girl who played basketball didn't feel like they did a great job with me when I was growing up. And so it was one of the
00:53:52.700 --> 00:54:17.609 Saeeda Dunston: things that we worked on. You talked earlier about the philanthropy and the giving of the mets. They support our girls sports programs, and they've been very supportive to the organization. And so don't worry. Before I leave here. Me and I probably will be a full on Mets Fan, especially if we're able to get the great economic engine that they're vying for right now
00:54:17.610 --> 00:54:23.559 Saeeda Dunston: across the finish line, it will really do a lot for our community. And so
00:54:23.560 --> 00:54:44.080 Saeeda Dunston: there's all of this stuff that we do. And I said, there's housing. We're running shelters. So there's a lot of things for people to feel connected to us with, so don't worry. If you didn't hear something, I promise you you will feel connected to something here. And so that means that there's something here to support.
00:54:44.080 --> 00:54:52.449 Tommy DiMisa: Let me jump in and just say, or ELMC OREL, mcor.org. For more info. Please say to continue.
00:54:52.450 --> 00:55:03.310 Saeeda Dunston: Yes, definitely and so we do have a gala coming up April 25.th I hope I got the right the number right, but I did.
00:55:03.310 --> 00:55:03.960 Tommy DiMisa: You did. April.
00:55:03.960 --> 00:55:04.620 Saeeda Dunston: Have you?
00:55:05.100 --> 00:55:05.680 Tommy DiMisa: April 20.
00:55:05.680 --> 00:55:07.239 Saeeda Dunston: Got it right. Thank you.
00:55:07.240 --> 00:55:07.640 Tommy DiMisa: 20.
00:55:07.640 --> 00:55:07.990 Saeeda Dunston: Have, a.
00:55:07.990 --> 00:55:09.980 Tommy DiMisa: 25, 4, 2525.
00:55:10.510 --> 00:55:13.025 Saeeda Dunston: Oh, see! Look at you helping me out!
00:55:13.340 --> 00:55:13.987 Saeeda Dunston: How I do it!
00:55:14.150 --> 00:55:43.016 Saeeda Dunston: So we have our upcoming gala it's the 25th be our 60th anniversary. It's going to be wonderful. We are recognizing Lorraine Chambers, who is the executive director of Northwell Forest Hills. Maria Ferrero, who is the bank manager here for Td bank we are also recognizing Elwanda Young, who was in a nonprofit.
00:55:44.711 --> 00:55:56.300 Saeeda Dunston: I don't even know like a goddess. She was a rich. She was originally the nonprofit, the leader here in the eighties, and went on to United Way, New York City. For about 40 years.
00:55:56.300 --> 00:56:20.049 Saeeda Dunston: and we're honoring some more folks. But I'm mentioning all of these people, because once again, you can see the connection between healthcare between nonprofit spaces between banking. We are here to make sure that we are supporting those who support us. And so there are many ways you can go. As Tommy, said, www.org.
00:56:20.050 --> 00:56:27.870 Saeeda Dunston: if you want to support, you know, as I said, you cannot solve poverty with poverty, and 60 years
00:56:27.970 --> 00:56:49.229 Saeeda Dunston: is a long time, and things are going to be tough for us. Those of us who are heavily government funded. I'm receiving money, and we see what's happening on the Federal level, and we know it doesn't just impact Federal direct Federal contracts. People are misunderstanding. State contracts are backed by Federal dollars. City contracts are backed by Federal dollars.
00:56:49.230 --> 00:57:05.390 Saeeda Dunston: And so now is when we're going to need our business community, our corporate partners to step up. And so I take this moment for all of those in Long Island and queens, and who are listening and nationally, do not
00:57:05.450 --> 00:57:33.069 Saeeda Dunston: think that today is the time to pull off the levers of support. It's time to actually increase so, and you can always just come out. And I know you gave the 9 8 8 number. I also want to give our 824 h, hotline number as well, 809, 5, 0 4, 2, 7, 1, 1, 809, 5, 0 4, 2, 7, 1, and our regular number is 7, 1, 8,
00:57:33.070 --> 00:57:36.029 Saeeda Dunston: 6, 5, 1, 0 0 9 6.
00:57:36.364 --> 00:57:44.390 Saeeda Dunston: We're on the corner of a hundred 8th and Northern boulevard. We're easily identifiable. We have the whole corner. Find us.
00:57:44.390 --> 00:57:54.820 Tommy DiMisa: And I'm coming out for a tour, because we already talked about that that, you know. I'll probably bring my bring my guy, Dylan, Demarco Cruz. We'll bring a camera, you and I. You take me on a tour. We'll make a whole show out.
00:57:55.500 --> 00:57:57.179 Saeeda Dunston: We got boxing rings we got.
00:57:57.180 --> 00:58:03.992 Tommy DiMisa: Alright. No, no, I'm not a boxer. I'm not Boxer. I might be like a good corner man, but I'm not a boxer. I'm I'm old dude. At this point.
00:58:04.220 --> 00:58:05.209 Saeeda Dunston: All the things.
00:58:05.620 --> 00:58:14.160 Tommy DiMisa: That's listen. I appreciate you. I appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you for everything you're doing. Thank you, for you're just dropping so much knowledge.
00:58:14.160 --> 00:58:39.100 Tommy DiMisa: certainly, about your organization, but general knowledge about life and and humanity and systematic change that we got to work on together, and I may I usually make a heart like a weird way, but people do it like this way. But I'm just going to give out some love right now, because I say this love compassion right? Listening more than you're talking. Listen! Hear the other person right? Pour into people say to Dunstan, I'm happy to have known you now, and I look forward to coming out and visiting with you.
00:58:39.390 --> 00:58:40.640 Tommy DiMisa: Thanks for being here.
00:58:41.320 --> 00:58:43.630 Saeeda Dunston: Thank you, Tommy. We appreciate you here at encore.
00:58:43.630 --> 00:58:49.980 Tommy DiMisa: Got it. Make it a great day, everybody. I'll be back here next week right in my attic. I'll wait for you. Meet me here, see you later. Bye.
Talking Alternative Broadcasting
392 Central Park West Suite 17R - New York, NY 10025
Privacy Policy · Terms & Conditions
Thank You for Visiting TALKRADIO.NYC © 2022.
