Queens Gazette: QCH Focuses on Nurturing Relationship Between Older Adults and Youth in Queens

Queens Gazette: QCH Focuses on Nurturing Relationship Between Older Adults and Youth in Queens | February 2022: During the holidays, Queens Community House’s (QCH) Neighborhood International Chore and Errand (NICE) program staff delivered holiday care packages to older adults.

QCH also started contactless delivery services comprised of shopping, appointment assistance (i.e. COVID or, doctors appointments) and TechPals (teaching older adults how to join online platforms using tablets).

NICE is a year-round employment program for high school students. Youth workers are trained to provide chore/shopping assistance and companionship to home-bound older adults as well as friendship and mobility assistance to older adults in nursing homes.

And other QCH community projects:

Queens Community House has also joined an initiative to provide career-focused opportunities for young adults in the borough. QCH and three other community-based organizations have been selected to participate in the NYC Accelerated Workforce Recovery Hub, a new initiative launched LaGuardia and Hostos Community Colleges, in partnership with The New York Community Trust. QCH will help recruit underemployed and unemployed Queens residents whose employment prospects have been negatively impacted by the COVID pandemic.

Participants will receive full- and partial-tuition scholarships for the CUNY colleges’ high-quality professional workforce training in programs such as medical assistant, nursing assistant, electrical, pharmacy technician, patient care tech and IT support. The training will prepare them for well-paying careers in high demand fields that require an industry-recognized certification. They’ll also earn college credits that can be applied toward a college degree in the future.

QCH will recruit participants from within its youth workforce programming, its five alternative high schools, and its Adult Education Services/ESOL program. The first cohort of approximately 50 students is expected to begin in March. Each semester, training programs will be reassessed to reflect the needs of the ever-changing labor market.

This month, QCH was happy to support the great work that Love Wins Food Pantry does through their food pantry distribution in Jackson Heights. Our Family Support Coordinator, Joelle Tirado, was able to attend the pantry twice in January and do intake of clients in need of support services, such as benefits screening and housing assistance. “We are very pleased to work with the great volunteers of Love Wins,” said Tirado, “and to be of assistance to families in need in Jackson Heights.”

Click here for the article.