From the dust of Clinton Avenue, the Father Tracy Advocacy Center was born.

The Center serves a diverse population, in part by providing free bagged lunches and water to the homeless and transient population in the area, maintaining a clothing bank, and utilizing the strength of existing services to meet the local population needs. Importantly, FTAC utilizes our location in the epicenter of the region’s opioid epidemic to connect individuals who are ready to start recovery to the appropriate services. The present and future of the Center is to provide a space for community members and service provides alike to create change on La Avenida and the social condition of what happens here.

Our people need an advocate. Someone to believe in them consistently enough to help get them over the hump. Due to their lack of income, chronic homelessness and/or a lack of access to the resources necessary to start and maintain a healthy lifestyle, our target population faces challenges in establishing the stability required to form the healthy habits required to combat their substance abuse, mental health challenges or basic daily care, such as needed medications, cleanliness or nutrition. With a lack of support in their surrounding environment (family, friends, community, or agencies), this population faces a lack of education to begin or maintain health in all facets. The Monroe County Heroin Task Force say that since the beginning of 2019 through the end of July 2019, there have been over 480 overdoses in Monroe County, 75 of them fatal. The reality is many of these individuals likely purchased from the area of La Avenida.

​Our target population faces a high risk of overdose due to their heroin use as well as higher risks of infection or abscesses due to IV drug use as it is the preferred method for taking heroin. These individuals are dehumanized by society and suffer from low health literacy or the inability to establish a healthy lifestyle due to their poverty and choices. Many are unable to begin a healthy lifestyle as they come from broken families who suffer from multi-generational substance abuse, incarceration or co-occurring disorders such as mental health, high blood pressure, diabetes, hepatitis C and illicit drug addiction, all of which is left untreated or not addressed by services provided by the government or agencies. Unresolved, this issue ultimately could result in death. By addressing the sale and use of opioids on La Avenida, as well as the underlying causes and co-occurring issues that come with addiction, FTAC seeks to improve physical, mental, and community health on La Avenida.