8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 15, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens Community House navigates through
COVID-related hurdles for summer youth program
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Although COVID-19 restrictions are
being lift ed throughout the borough, continued
concerns have presented obstacles
for Queens Community House (QCH)
as they work toward the kickoff of their
Summer Youth Employment Program
(SYEP).
As one of the largest social service organizations
in Queens, QCH provides youth
between the ages of 14 and 24 with career
opportunities and paid work experiences
through SYEP. Participants explore their
interests and career pathways, develop
workplace skills and engage in learning
experiences that help to develop their
social, civic and leadership skills.
In the months leading up to each summer,
QCH looks for businesses to partner
with and recruit worksites for SYEP. One
of the major hurdles this year has been
the amount of participants businesses are
willing to accept. Many are accepting only
half the number of SYEP participants that
they would normally welcome.
Queens Community House is facing obstacles while working toward the kickoff of the Summer Youth Employment Program.
“Businesses are factoring in maintaining
social distancing while accounting
for their existing staff to avoid having too
many people in person at one time,” QCH
Workforce Program Manager Carlene
Asphall said.
Th e reopening of the city has also
resulted in a limited number of virtual
worksites available for QCH’s SYEP, as
businesses transition back to in-person
operations.
“We have a lot of in-person worksites,
but some parents and their children are
hesitant to go back to in-person settings
and would rather participate virtually,”
Asphall said.
Alexandria Sumpter-Delves, division
director of Youth Workforce at QCH,
said that the initial struggle to confi rm
worksites for SYEP was due to COVID
concerns and the uncertainty of the city
reopening.
“When we were reaching out to businesses
in February, many were hesitant
to be a SYEP worksite because they were
unsure about how they’d be operating
during the summer, but now we’re hearing
yeses from them as the city reopens,”
Sumpter-Delves said.
Despite the obstacles that have come
with this year’s SYEP launch, QCH looks
Photos courtesy of QCH
forward to seeing young people engaged in
a program that provides work experience
and workforce readiness opportunities.
“Th is has been a challenging time for
young people looking for opportunities to
grow, so we need to reinforce the importance
of helping the youth develop social,
civic and leadership skills to prepare them
for the future, and SYEP is a great way to
do that, Sumpter-Delves said.
Participants will have the opportunity
to work in a variety of jobs at government
agencies, nonprofi t organizations, hospitals,
law fi rms, retail businesses and more.
Some of the confi rmed QCH SYEP worksites
for this year include the Offi ce of
the Queens Borough President, New York
Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, Fairview
Nursing Care Center, Buff alo Wild Wings,
the Offi ce of Assemblywoman Jenifer
Rajkumar, Astoria Film Festival and the city
Department of Design and Construction.
Th rough a broad network of programs
operating out of 32 sites in 14 neighborhoods,
QCH serves more than 25,000
Queens residents of all ages with a needed
support system at every stage of life, helping
them to develop the knowledge, confi
dence and skills to change their lives for
the better and become active participants
in their larger community.
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