Avenues for Justice Offers OSHA-30, Site Safety, Flaggers, and Scaffolding Trainings With Certifications To The Largest Cohort To Date

At Avenues for Justice (AFJ), we take pride in our 45-year track record of courtroom advocacy and providing enrichment services to meet the individualized needs of our young people. This week, we are excited to highlight the continued success of our in-house OSHA-30, Site Safety, Flaggers, and Scaffolding trainings with certifications earned.

This June, we celebrated our largest cohort to date, with 19 Participants earning all four certifications, and two additional Participants receiving their Flaggers and Scaffolding certifications. These trainings, offered free of cost to our Participants, are facilitated by Shahiem Mendez of Partner Set 360 LLC. According to NYC Local Law 196, effective March 1, 2021, employees at all major construction sites must provide proof of completing an OSHA-30 and Site Safety Training (SST)-10 course. The OSHA 30-Hour Outreach Training for Construction teaches our young people the importance of site safety to reduce job-site-related accidents. Complementing the OSHA-30 course, is the Flaggers and Scaffolding training, which is essential for construction sites.

AFJ’s OSHA-30, Site Safety, Flaggers, and Scaffolding trainings are open to the family members of our Participants, clients from partner organizations, and community members. In this month’s training, the father of a current Participant, along with the partner of an AFJ Graduate, earned their certifications. Delilah Martinez, an AFJ Program Graduate and Second Chance Award recipient, who currently works for the CDC as a Quarantine Public Health Officer, reached out to see if her partner could participate in AFJ’s HIRE Up employment workshops. Delilah knew that her partner earning the OSHA-30 certification would help him further advance in the construction field.

‍“The classes are very interesting, hands-on, and grab your attention. You’re able to visually see what goes on and the dangers of not watching your back, not properly securing things down, and not having guard rails in place. There’s a lot of things that can end up going wrong.” ~AFJ Participant

“I’ve been interested in construction for quite some time so knowing that the program had a chance for me to better myself by getting certifications that I know I will need in the future was important to me. I have been pushing myself every day to make sure that I pass. I’m so glad that I actually made it and finished it!” ~AFJ Participant

“I was speaking to Angel and he was telling me how AFJ provides OSHA classes for program graduates and members of the community. I asked him if there was any chance that my partner could attend the training. Because AFJ always has the door open for individuals to better themselves, Angel said of course.” ~AFJ Program Graduate, Delilah Martinez

“It was an amazing learning experience. I learned a lot more than what I normally do and now I know about safety mechanisms and how to move forward. I currently work on building elevator shafts, and I want to move higher up in the field. AFJ definitely helped me out a lot.” ~Community Member

“The class is great. It’s not hard. You just have to have the willpower to have patience and you have to be willing to learn something different. Where I live in the Bronx, there’s a lot of construction sites. If I wanted to go ask somebody for some information about a job, I’m going to walk over and let them know my qualifications. I would recommend this program whether you’re young or older.” ~Dashawn, the father of an AFJ Participant

Since beginning the training cohorts, 52 Participants have received their OSHA and Site Safety certifications, 45 Participants have received their Flaggers certifications, and 37 Participants have received their Scaffolding certifications. Avenues for Justice is grateful to our funders for grants which allow us to cover the full cost of the HIRE Up trainings with certifications so that our Participants can attend all sessions free of cost.