News

2024 Taste of Buffalo

Things 2 Know: 2024 Taste of Buffalo

The popular 2-day food festival makes its return to downtown Buffalo this July. Taste of Buffalo returns to downtown Buffalo for its 41st season next month. This year the food festival will feature 43 local restaurants and food trucks and four New York State wineries, and they will be set up along Delaware Avenue between Chippewa Street and Niagara Square.

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Progress on workplace diversity

Progress on workplace diversity, but more to do

Local companies are making headway on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the workplace. But there are also signs of more work to be done, particularly in closing the “perception gap” about the impact of those efforts. The Buffalo Niagara Partnership has released its third DEI assessment, in keeping with the business group’s plan to release a new assessment every two years.

Forty percent of the survey respondents said they had a point person in charge of DEI processes, compared to 30% two years ago. Seventy nine percent said they had started their DEI journey, the same percentage as in 2022. And 77% of employers with DEI programs say their recruitment efforts include outreach to attract minority candidates, up from 66% two years ago.

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Construction Watch: 899 Main Street

Construction Watch: 899 Main Street

Exterior work is be wrapping up on BestSelf Behavioral Health’s new corporate headquarters at 899 Main Street. Uniland Development is overseeing the $20 million project. Uniland is adding a third floor to the building to accommodate BestSelf’s space needs.

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Continuing need for Mental Health Services

Continuing need for Mental Health Services

With services stretched thin after the May 14 Tops massacre, Buffalo is being asked to fund more youth centers and mental health counseling on the East Side.

Two years after the May 14 massacre at Tops Supermarket on Jefferson Avenue, counselors and other community advocates are calling for expanded mental health services on Buffalo’s East Side.

What’s needed, they say, are more community centers serving as “safe spaces” where young people can go, as well as more mental health counseling and more funding for mental health services overall.

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On anniversary of Tops shooting, governor highlights resources to address trauma

On anniversary of Tops shooting, governor highlights resources to address trauma & mental wellbeing in east Buffalo

Gov. Kathy Hochul today announced progress made by the grassroots, community-driven initiatives established to address trauma, mental health and emotional wellness in the east Buffalo community following the racially motivated shooting at the Tops supermarket on May 14, 2022.

Funded through a pair of federal grants, the “Reimagine: I am the Change” initiative has created a network of community supports, including several grassroots wellness initiatives; a mobile Black mental health outreach and response team; and a training initiative to expand the number of community members equipped to offer emotional support and psychological first aid in east Buffalo.

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Reimagine: I am the Change

‘Reimagine: I am the Change’ Bringing new life to a community in recovery

East Buffalo was thoroughly devastated by the racially motivated shooting perpetrated at the Tops Market two years ago. In mere moments, the senseless attack claimed 10 lives and injured three others, leaving a community mourning the loss of neighbors, family, and friends –victims of a racist act of terror and hate. The attack also reopened wounds from the past that had never healed in the predominantly Black community.

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How Businesses Can Help BestSelf Achieve Their Capital Campaign Goal

Whole Health Buffalo: How Businesses Can Help BestSelf Achieve Their Capital Campaign Goal

As a community, we are responsible for protecting and supporting our most vulnerable members: our children. BestSelf Behavioral Health is in the final stages of a crucial $12.5 million capital campaign to relocate and expand the Scott Bieler Child Advocacy Center (CAC) and BestSelf’s administrative offices. This effort is not just a physical expansion; it’s a lifeline for children who have suffered from sexual abuse, violence, and trauma in Erie County.

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BestSelf Behavioral Health Awarded Nearly $50,000 in Local and State Grants

BestSelf Behavioral Health Awarded Nearly $50,000 in Local and State Grants

Three Foundations and NYS Will Help Provide a Variety of Behavioral Health Services to Children

Buffalo, NY, May 16, 2024 – BestSelf Behavioral Health (BBH) today announced four new grant awards that will help them advance new programming, expand existing services, and sustain vital programs, specifically for infants and children throughout Western New York. Through BBH, the local community is provided easy access to a full continuum of person-centered, trauma-informed behavioral health treatment and recovery services. This generous funding enables BestSelf to sustain crucial community services that foster health, hope, recovery, and an improved quality of life.

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BestSelf Behavioral Health Selects Unapologetic Coffee for New Location

BestSelf Behavioral Health selects Unapologetic Coffee for new location

Local Roasters and Café-Owning Sisters will serve their coffee and social philosophy at BestSelf’s headquarters.

Buffalo, NY, April 18, 2024 – BestSelf Behavioral Health announced today that they have partnered with locally-owned Unapologetic Coffee to serve their high-quality products in a space on the first floor of their new headquarters and future home of the Scott Bieler Child Advocacy Center (CAC) at BestSelf, which are all slated to open this summer.

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Value Network and Safety-Net IPA Announce First of Its Kind Partnership

Value Network and Safety-Net IPA Announce First of Its Kind Partnership

Organizations Align to Foster a Healthy Community and Drive Cost-Efficiency in Healthcare System

Buffalo, NY, January 10, 2024 – Value Network (VN) and Safety Net Association of Primary Care Affiliate Providers (SNAPCAP) IPA announce today a unique partnership that focuses on assisting people served within their two Independent Practice Associations (IPAs) with Medicaid insurance to connect with social care services in the community. This partnership is the first of its kind in Western New York between two IPAs. They have been working together in various collaborations since 2015, mostly focusing on primary care and behavioral health integration efforts and streamlining processes for people receiving Medicaid insurance, ensuring that they have the appropriate primary care and behavioral healthcare supports in the WNY Community.

To read the full press release, click here.