BY JASON COHEN
In 2019, Bronx residents
voiced opposition for a planned
shelter at 2008 Westchester
Ave., in Parkchester. Yet, the
shelter, which wound up opening
in October 2020, is now
making a difference in peoples’
lives.
People often associate sex
offenders, drug addicts and
crime with shelters, but this
facility couldn’t be further
from that narrative. The 165-
bed Men’s Employment Shelter
is operated by nonprofi t
Samaritan Daytop Village and
all of the clients are working
or actively seeking a job.
Today, the site is an example
of community collaboration,
with a local church
playing an important role in
providing clients with professional
attire for interviews and
a barber offering free haircuts
to clients of the facility.
“Our main goal is no matter
where you come from, what
challenges you face in life, we
want to just work with you,
meet you where you’re at and
help you get permanent housing,”
the site’s Program Director
Christina Norman said.
“I think people come with all
different stories and we’re just
trying to help them get back
on their feet.”
The shelter, which currently
only has 80 clients because
of COVID-19 restrictions,
offers on-site services
such as a social worker, and
resume and job assistance.
Norman noted that the ratio
of men employed versus unemployed
is 70 to 30.
She explained while the
community was apprehensive
at fi rst about the shelter, now
places like St. Helena’s Church
on Olmstead Avenue brings
the men clothes for interviews
and connects them with job
opportunities.
According to Norman, shelters
may be viewed as a scary
place from the outside, but in
reality they are quite benefi -
cial for the clients. She said,
so far, there has been positive
feedback from the men utilizing
the facility. And s many of
these men are at their lowest
points in their lives, one of the
goals is to help them feel good
about themselves, she said.
“We really try to have a
good relationship with our clients,”
BRONX TIMES R 16 EPORTER, JULY 9-15, 2021 BTR
she added.
In addition to providing a
safe space for men, they also
have the opportunity to get
a free haircut every other
Wednesday. Whether they
have a job interview or simply
need a fresh look, barber
Christian Lattimore is there
to make the men look stylish.
Lattimore, of Harlem, who
has cut hair for fi ve years, initially
worked at the shelter
for three months as a security
guard. More recently, he
reached out to Norman to see
if he could cut hair at the shelter
and she gladly accepted the
offer.
For Lattimore helping out
there is quite personal.
“For me, I’m giving back
to make the men feel better,”
he told the Bronx Times. “I’ve
been in situations like this in
a shelter. Some people feel that
people in the shelter can’t do
certain things.”
One of Lattimore’s recent
clients included Henry Fernandez.
Fernandez, 50, said it
was his fi rst time getting his
haircut with Lattimore, but he
enjoyed it.
“It’s very hard for me to try
Barber Christian Lattimore cuts the hair of Henry Fernandez, a client at
the men’s employment shelter at 2008 Westchester Ave.
Photo Jason Cohen
a new barber when I had never
had them cut my hair before,”
he said.
While he appreciated the
free haircut, Fernandez emphasized
how much the shelter
has meant to him. A retired
plumber of 35 years, Fernandez
has had severe health issues
recently and feels lucky
to be alive. After living in a
shelter in Manhattan, he feels
much more comfortable in
Parkchester.
“I was at 30th Street for
four and a half months and
then I came here and this
place was a palace to me,” he
said. “Over here, there is more
caring and helping, and the
food is great.”
Today, Fernandez is healthy
and happy as he recently found
permanent housing in Manhattan
and will be leaving the
shelter this month.
“For me to become homeless
and go through all of this
has been hard,” he said. “Not
too many people could be in
my shoes for the past four
years.”
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
New York City’s fi rst “Earn
While Learn” program is set to
begin in West Bronx’s Hunter
Ambulance next month, and
the goal is to graduate 80 soonto
be paramedics into an EMS
workforce that is in the midst of
a “crisis-level” labor shortage.
Accepting applications until
July 10, the program is eligible
for NYC residents age 18 and
older who have at least a high
school diploma or a GED. Trainees
accepted into the program
will be paid throughout the
10-week training course from
July 26 to Sept. 30. Democrat
Assemblyman Kenneth Burgos,
who represents District 85
which encompasses the Hunts
Point and Soundview sections
of The Bronx, underscored the
need for the program at a June
29 press conference.
“Last year, and years before
that and moving forward,
EMTs were on the frontline and
will continue to be on the frontlines
in our city, so a program
like this is absolutely crucial,”
said Burgos. “Unfortunately,
we are in the poorest congressional
district Congressional
District 15 in the nation … so
when we’re talking about recovering
from the COVID-19
pandemic, these are the type of
programs that we want to see in
the district.”
Much like The Bronx, NYC’s
EMS workforce is also attempting
to recover from a pandemic
that has resulted in a labor
shortage that is at a “crisis
level,” according to Thomas
Maxian, Global Medical Response
president of the Northeast
Region.
Maxian said that during the
COVID-19 pandemic, New York
state EMT graduates and enrollees
went down 30%.
“Today, the EMT shortage
that started as the genesis of
the Learn While You Earn program
initiative has escalated
to crisis level,” Maxian said.
“That crisis is crippling our
industry and threatens public
safety.”
According to American
Medical Response, a subsidiary
of Global Medical Response
and a major partner in the program,
“all training costs are
covered, and upon successful
completion of the program and
obtaining their state certifi cation,
graduates are promoted to
EMT-B with a competitive pay
rate increase.”
Oren Barzilay, president of
Local 2507 of the Uniformed
EMTs told the Bronx Times
that he is supportive of the new
program, especially at a time
where a paramedic career in
New York City is becoming less
sought after.
“I think the city doing this
program is great because it
gives young men and women
the opportunity to start a wonderful
career,” Barzilay said.
“Because we know the city
sees this career as a dying career.
People are not staying in
this job anymore because of
the low pay and the heightened
risks associated with the position.”
Barzilay said the city’s 4,300
EMTs and paramedics are
grossly underpaid, which is
contributing to the labor shortage.
The entry-level salary for
ambulance workers is $16.95
per hour or $33,000 a year –
about $2 above the minimum,
which isn’t a living wage in
New York, according to Barzilay.
The starting annual salary
of an EMT is $35,000—
$16.50 an hour—reaching a
maximum of $48,000 after fi ve
years. FDNY EMS workers are
paid about 40% less than fi refi
ghters and police offi cers.
“I became president four
years ago with the main objective
to bring my men and
women from poverty wages
into living wages,” Barzilay
said.
One of the reasons Barzilay
believes the city’s paramedics
are being disproportionately
paid compared to other fi rst
responders in the city is due
to a high volume of people of
color in the fi eld.
“We believe the city is discriminating
against our workforce
because we have the highest
share of minorities across
New York City fi rst responders,”
he said. “We’ve fi led a federal
lawsuit against the city
because we are seeing discriminatory
and uneven payment
to our fi rst responders who are
saving lives every day.”
Over 50% of New York
City’s paramedic and EMT
workforce are comprised of
people of color, 30% women
and roughly 6% Asian-Pafi -
cian Islander.
Men’s Employment
Shelter thriving
New program aims to fi x paramedic labor crisis