Art from the Heart

Eviction Intervention Services, a non-profit that helps tenants stay in their homes through free legal clinics and tenant advocacy, got a dash of color thanks to former intern Kristen Pesature (second from the left). â??I wanted the space to feel as accommodating as the people who work here, she said. Pesature, 23, first came across the non-profit, based at 1233 Second Ave., near East 65th Street, after enrolling in a â??Persuasion and Advocacy class at Marymount Manhattan College. The class requires students to spend at least 12 hours working directly with a community partner, and is part of the school"s â??Service Learning Program, in which students do on-site observation of local non-profits to see how organizations with limited financial resources advance their missions. Pesature was so inspired by the group"s work that she decided to paint a picture, unveiled at a Jan. 12 ceremony, to brighten Eviction Intervention Services" office. â??It gives them a hands-on experience of how advocacy really takes place with regard to housing in New York City, said Anthony Naaeke (left), the class" instructor. For small non-profits such as Eviction Intervention Services, partnerships with local colleges provide much needed administrative and technical support. â??It has kept us alive as a small non-profit, said Audrey Tannen, the executive director (third from right). â??We could not have afforded it otherwise. Also in attendance were Cindy Mercer, executive director for academic achievement (second from right), and Ellen FitzGerald, president of the board of directors for Eviction Intervention Services (right).ˆ  Photo by Andrew Schwartz