Founded in 1972, the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is a Bronx-based settlement house. Our mission is to improve the economic and social well-being of individuals, families and communities who are most in need. Our intent is to enable individuals to uncover their potential and improve their lives. To do this we provide direct, hands-on help, community outreach, education, and advocacy, often in collaboration with other organizations. In all aspects of our work, CAB strives for the highest ethical and performance standards and is guided by the belief that people are to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their present situation or past experiences. CAB currently makes a difference in the lives of thousands each year, including individuals at all stages of the life cycle and special needs populations.

Description:
Using a holistic approach to community development, CAB has been working to build sustainable communities in the Bronx for the past three decades. Since its inception, CAB has grown from a single office into an organization operating from 23 sites and serving over 27,000 Bronx residents annually. Our offices are located in some of the poorest areas of the Bronx, allowing us to bring programs directly into the communities that need them most. The broad and diverse spectrum of services we offer addresses the needs of all age groups ranging from infants to senior citizens, as well as selected special need populations. These include immigrants, homeless individuals and families, people with and families impacted by HIV/AIDS, and adults making the transition from welfare to work.

Today, CAB is the largest settlement house in the Bronx with 467 staff members and 30 volunteers. We are proud to be a member of United Neighborhood Houses, the umbrella organization for the settlement house system in New York City.

History:
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), a Bronx-based settlement house, is a part of worldwide movement to provide services to people in need. There are currently more than 1,000 CAB walk-in information and referral offices in Great Britain, with additional independent offices in Jamaica, the Indian sub-continent, Australia, and New Zealand.

CAB began operations in 1939 in Great Britain to help British citizens cope with the traumas associated with the Second World War. Nearly three decades later, an American social worker with the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, Ms. Mildred Zucker, visited England and observed CAB’s information and referral service model first hand. Impressed with this model, Ms. Zucker returned to the United States and worked with concerned Bronx residents – clergy, community activists, and neighborhood residents – to implement it on these shores.

In 1972, when the South Bronx was undergoing profound social change, CAB opened its first Bronx office, a walk-in information and referral service. CAB has since played a part in the continuous effort to rejuvenate the South and West Bronx from an impoverished, underserved area to a vibrant, diverse, and vital cluster of communities. Since 1972, CAB has grown tremendously and now operates more than twenty offices with a strong presence in Bronx Community Districts 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7.

Information and referral (I & R) services for individuals and families remain a central element of CAB's services. Many programs have built an I & R component into program activities, while offices devoted to I & R serve as "one stop shops" where residents can find help identifying, evaluating, and pursuing solutions to a broad range of problems. Staff members are trained in tenant and consumer rights, entitlement regulations and senior issues; staff are caring, compassionate, and knowledgeable, and help link residents to CAB and community resources to resolve problems.

Contact person: Jessica Smith-Houk, Human Resources Manager, (718) 365-0910 x156, (email)
Office fax number: (718) 293-9767

Address:

1130 Grand Concourse Bronx, NY 10456 (See a map)

Directions:

The building is located next to the Bronx Housing Court and across the street from the Mid Bronx Senior Citizens Council’s Andrew Freeman Home. Subway: Take the "B" or "D" train to 167th Street and the Grand Concourse. Walk one. . . (more)   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: B/D 167 Street,   Walk distance (in minutes): 1   Nearest Bus Stop: BX1 or BX2, 2 minute walk