I called QCH’s Immigration Services because I had no one else to turn to. Before, I was very shy to talk about my case, and all the time I was feeling scared. When I spoke to Carmen, I knew that Queens Community House was the right place for me. She helped me so much.
“When I transferred to Voyages South High School, it wasn’t all cupcakes and rainbows. There were times when I would wake up and think to myself, ‘Do I really need school?’ My environment was completely unstable.
I started volunteering at Queens Community House when my husband passed away over twenty years ago. If you sit around when you get old, you’ll dry up, so I keep myself busy. I work in the kitchen and help with Meals on Wheels. Anything my hands find to do, I do it.
I recently retired from a 25-year career as a New York City social worker; 5 years with the Department of Health’s HIV/AIDS Services Division as Coordinator of the Anonymous Counseling & Testing site at Chelsea Clinic, and 20 years as a related service provider/counselor with the Department o
I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. As a kid, I loved academics and learning a piece of new information was always exciting. Education wasn’t a big priority at home, so I learned to motivate myself.
"I’ve been coming to QCH's Kew Gardens Community Center for 15 years. I found out about it when a woman told me about a drama group, Belle’s Players, which meets once a week. I’ve been coming to the center to perform with the group ever since.
"I'm in second grade, I'm seven years old and I love to play soccer. It's a really big sport in Uzbekistan, and that's why I like it so much. I haven't been there yet, but I think my family is going to take me this summer. I like being Uzbek because it inspires me.
I was 19 when Hitler arrived in my hometown of Vienna. Harassment of Jews began immediately, so my parents and I made arrangements to emigrate to Palestine. It was easier for students to leave the country, so my parents sent me on ahead.
