Op-Ed: New York’s budget cuts create a
‘social time bomb’ for underserved youth
oped
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BRONX TIMES R 12 EPORTER,MAY 1-7, 2020 BTR
BY MARIA VIERA
When I was a teenager growing up in
the Bronx, I received a job that changed the
course of my life. I was one of thousands
of low-income kids employed through the
city’s Summer Youth Employment Program
(SYEP). My job as a clerical assistant
helped supplement the income my mom
brought in, alleviating the stress brought
on by back-to-school shopping.
Raising a family on her own on a fi xed
disability income, my mom could barely
make ends meet, let alone meet these demands.
SYEP gave me the income to purchase
my school supplies and clothing. My
mom no longer had to worry about saving
money to buy my supplies or putting things
on layaway to get me through the school
year. The income I earned helped fi ll a fi -
nancial gap, but it gave me something even
more valuable: a sense of purpose.
I wanted a summer job that would prepare
me for the workforce. The values I
was taught through SYEP were invaluable
to getting me to where I am today: VP of
Community Affairs at RiseBoro Community
Partnership, one of the largest nonprofi
t organizations in Brooklyn.
This summer would have been a chance
for other kids to have that same opportunity.
Now they won’t have that chance.
Amid other devastating budget cuts,
the city cancelled SYEP, eliminating up
to 75,000 paid summer internships for vulnerable
youth. RiseBoro alone served 1,300
kids through SYEP. We were given just 24
hours to lay off staff who were working for
the program. We were totally blindsided.
The city said the decision was due to an
abundance of caution due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. And to be sure, we
must continue to take action that ensures
we don’t contribute to the spread of the virus,
especially among our most vulnerable
populations. But with this action, the city
is setting up a social time bomb. Impoverished
kids will have nothing to do this
summer assuming parks and playgrounds
remain closed, and even more fi nancial
strain will be put on their families.
It’s a careless decision that will perpetuate
inequities.
The economic impact on low income
families would be devastating enough in
normal times, but it will hit even harder
as families struggle through this pandemic.
Like me, thousands of children
rely on these summer jobs to buy school
supplies and clothing. And with 1.2 million
New Yorkers fi ling for unemployment
since the pandemic began, these
jobs are all the more critical. In one of
the communities RiseBoro serves, Bushwick,
poverty levels hover around 40
percent.
If concern over the spread of
COVID-19 is truly the sole reason behind
these cuts, there are solutions to
be found. Since the Younger Youth Program
is already structured as a Projectbased
workplace learning environment,
it can be transitioned a remote setting.
Older youth (ages 16- 21) can be employed,
in manageable numbers, by
committed worksites that have the
bandwidth to provide various virtual
workplace opportunities. Most organizations
are already working remotely.
It’s a matter of pairing youth with agencies
and organizations that have these
capabilities, and assigning tasks that
can be taught and supervised remotely.
Businesses and organizations have
spent weeks learning and implementing
remote work capabilities. Money is
tight, but surely we can come up with a
solution that keeps SYEP active, even if
it is modifi ed.
During this time of uncertainty,
SYEP can provide stability to low-income
families. It puts money in the pockets of
the people who need it most, and gives
kids experiences they will keep with
them forever. The next business leader
or nonprofi t executive can grow from
this program. I’m living proof. Instead
of cutting off such a crucial program in
a time of great need, let’s work on common
sense solutions that can allow it to
continue. We owe it to these families.
Maria is RiseBoro Community Partnership’s
VP of Community Affairs and a
former Summer Youth Employment Program
participant.
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