Lower Eastside Service Center

In 2009, Heidi Albertsen assumed the role of Ambassador for the Lower Eastside Service Center (LESC). LESC is a non-profit, tax-exempt, social service agency that provides comprehensive healthcare and affordable housing for New Yorkers living with chemical dependency and/or mental illness. LESC offers a variety of programs, including several residential treatment programs and several out-patient treatment programs, a pregnant women and infants program, a permanent supportive housing complex for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, a continuing day treatment program for New Yorker's Chinatown community on the Lower East Side and our newest venture, Bridge2Life Camp & Kids Club.

In recent years, LESC has expanded its mission to address the unmet and overlooked needs of children of substance abusers. LESC has launched the first-ever Kid Club, which offers a year-round program for children of substance abusers, ages 8-12, anchored by Bridge2Life Camp where these kids are given the opportunity to experience all the wonderful joys that summer camp has to offer. Its goal is to prevent next-generation substance abuse, which is four times more likely to occur among these children than among their peers, by using a best-practice intervention strategy. The majority of the inner city kids we serve are in fact African American and Hispanic and all undoubtedly come from homes that are economically deprived.

The continued success of this initiative depends of the collective effort by those concerned individuals in our community. Heidi believes wholeheartedly that when we come together for a common cause we can make a difference. More then ever, we must rely on the generous spirit of organizations such as yours to help give these people the hope they so desperately need.

Should you not be able to reach Heidi and need any questions answered immediately, you may contact Peter Santoro, Vice President of Development of the Friends of LESC. His email address is [email protected], the direct dial to his office is +1 (212) 566-7735, and his cell number is +1 (917) 826-0456.

For more information on the Lower Eastside Service Center, please go to www.lesc.org.