More than thirty years ago, as the plague of drug abuse hit Cypress Hills hard in the era of crack cocaine, the congregation gave permission to Narcotics Anonymous to hold sessions in the Parish Hall.  Many lives have been saved and ennobled through NA, which meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

A mission of love for families begun in 1975 by then-teacher Judy Benke with an enrollment of five children, St. Peter’s Pre-School has become emblematic of the church’s commitment to its neighborhood, with well more than a thousand children graduating from its New York City Department of Health Licensed programs through the years.    Begun as an outreach to children aged 3 and 4, the Kindergarten was added in the early 1980s due to parental desire.  By the mid-90s, under the administration of Clara DelValle, the school expanded, again by parental desire, to include first and second grades.  Students in this era could attend this early learning center from age 3 to 8, and often return to what became their “all-time favorite school.”  
In 1998 St. Peter’s was informed about the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program of the City of New York.  As income levels changed in the community, becoming a New York City vendor allowed St. Peter’s to offer a tuition-free option to poorer families for half-day pre-school.
Twelve years later, it became evident that the burden of tuition connected to high cost of housing and economic difficulty made it very difficult for Cypress Hills families to send their children to private tuition schools, especially with the advent of charter schools.  So St. Peter’s Pre-School, with a tremendous amount of sadness, was forced to cut back its 3 year old, 5,6 and 7 year old programs and focus on Full-Day Universal Pre-Kindergarten.  All five licensed classrooms now serve 83 4 year old students for a full school day.  
The staff has remained remarkably stable through the years under Ms. DelValle’s leadership, and a new durable contract with the NYC Department of Education is in process.  St. Peter’s Pre-School has indeed been blessed to be a blessing!