Two years ago, I was invited to the Academy Street Firehouse for a showing of my friend’s new art collection. I had never heard of the Firehouse, so I presumed that this was an old firehouse that had been transformed into an art gallery for up-and-coming local artists in Newark. When you walk into the Firehouse, you see the beautiful, old hardwood floors, the big colorful canvases of abstract oil paintings and a variation of smaller-sized black-and-white drawings that fill the walls and the Firehouse with warmth.
But the Academy Street Firehouse, located on Academy Street, is not what it seems. It is actually a nonprofit organization that, through after-school activities and summer programs, offers academic, mental, social and physical services throughout the year to children who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
It receives funding from local businesses and organizations such as the United Way, the Horizon Foundation, the Victoria Foundation and Prudential Financial. The Firehouse is also the head office for the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children. The children who participate in the program live at the St. Clare’s Homes for Children, which are currently located in Elizabeth, Jersey City and Neptune, N.J. These homes are specifically for babies and children who are either living with HIV themselves or are affected by HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS has become a pandemic that is taking and affecting the lives of millions upon millions of people. Statistics show that New Jersey has the fifth-highest reported AIDS cases in the United States, with 48,431 cases recorded to date. Newark is No. 9 on a list of the top-10 reported AIDS cases in the metropolitan areas, with 17,796 cases recorded to date. HIV/AIDS not only affects people living with the disease but also their children and their families.
For 20 years now, the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children has been helping these families and children. Betty Goldfond, who is the Firehouse program director, says: “There is definitely a problem in Newark concerning HIV/AIDS. It is not discussed a lot, and it is not broadcast because of the fears and stigmas surrounding the issue. The younger children are not aware of these things yet, but it is discussed openly with the older kids.”
The Academy Street Firehouse is dedicated to giving children and young adults the special care that they need while dealing with either the loss of a parent or both parents due to AIDS or while living with HIV themselves, right here in Newark.
The Academy Street Firehouse was actually an old firehouse purchased from the city of Newark in 1997. It opened its doors to the children and the city in 2002.
The Firehouse after-school program has been running for about four years, and students from surrounding schools like Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Essex County College volunteer. “When I first started to volunteer at the Firehouse, some of the kids were shy and didn’t really know how to approach me,” says Emily Skinner, a student at Rutgers University. “But the more and more time you spend at the Firehouse with them, the more they open up, and a real bond begins to grow. It was really great to see the children every week and see them progress in school and just be carefree when they are there. It’s a great outlet for them to come to after school.”
There are more than 8,000 children affected or infected with HIV/AIDS in Newark, and the Firehouse is developed and dedicated to their needs. The children who come to the Academy Street Firehouse after school live in the St. Clare’s homes, either with their parents or guardians. Every Tuesday through Friday they are picked up after school and dropped off at night at their homes.
The children’s ages range anywhere from 7 to 19. Programs such as academic time, drama time, computer time, and arts and crafts are organized according to age groups. The younger children tend to work more with arts and crafts or small group activities, while the older kids have group sessions and discussions about important issues like substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and safe sex.
The Firehouse program is available only to children living in one of the St. Clare’s facilities and enrolled in school. There is a registration period every year, and everyone who fulfills the requirements is welcome. Once you are out of school it does not mean that you are no longer part of the program. “Every effort is made to stay in touch with all former Firehouse students,” Goldfond says. “The Firehouse is an ongoing resource for all Firehouse students, past and present.”
The Firehouse exposes children to new things outside of the bad neighborhoods they are surrounded by. “I don’t like to stay after school a lot because I get scared when I have to walk home. The Firehouse is fun and my friends are here,” says a student.
The children are coping with important issues, and the Firehouse provides a variety of activities for them to break out of their shells and get to know who they are by being a part of this program. Dana Bochna, another volunteer from Rutgers University, says: “There is great improvement in the children over the school year. They mature and assume leadership. They have a set schedule, rules, and they have one-on-one tutoring with us, which help tremendously. I was excited to get to the Firehouse every week to see the kids. I looked forward to spending time with them. As much as they learned from me, I learned from them, too.”
The Academy Street Firehouse is nothing like what I thought it was. The vibrant art that fills the walls was a mere gateway to what the Firehouse really has to offer—a place for children to feel safe, to grow, a chance for the community to get involved. The art covering the walls fills the Firehouse with warmth, but the children are the ones who fill the Academy Street Firehouse with life.
Selin Senyilmaz is a Rutgers-Newark student. Posted 2008.
