The NYPD OPTIONS program, students, staff and alumni of the High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety held a ribbon-cutting to mark the opening of the school’s new OPTIONS wellness center. The wellness center will help to enhance the personal and professional development of youths through the activities available at this safe and creative space.
Among those on hand to speak about the meaning and impact of this wellness center were High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety (HSLEAPS) Principal Laura Van Deren, Office of Speaker Adrienne Adams Deputy Chief of Staff and HSLEAPS alumni Tyrell Hankerson, Queens South High Schools Deputy Superintendent Namita Dwarka, New York City Police Foundation Executive Director Greg Roberts, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Community Affairs Mark Stewart and Police Officer and HSLEAPS alumni Terome Parham.
“Some of our collaborative goals in the wellness center include creating career connected learning, pathways for all students and working with our NYPD power partners to support mental health, student attendance, enrichment and quality mindfulness practices,” Van Deren said. “I thank everyone who is here today for supporting our students, for supporting HSLEAPS and always supporting the NYPD.”
Van Deren credited several individuals and organizations for helping to make this possible. Those she thanked included NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Mark Stewart, Greg Roberts, the New York City Police Foundation and the NYPD OPTIONS team.
“Being here today and representing Speaker Adams is a source of pride for me,” Hankerson said. “Being an alumni of this school and seeing how far the school has come and seeing how it has impacted the community is something that cannot be taken away from this district. Our youth needs safe spaces. They need spaces where they can be open and be themselves. Today’s ribbon-cutting is a representation of that. It’s a space where they can thrive. It’s a space where…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply