Springing Into Summer, Here’s The Pulse From Our Participants

As Avenues for Justice (AFJ) gears up for what we anticipate will be an incredibly productive summer for our Participants, we wanted to share a few program updates.

This Spring, AFJ partnered with two local businesses to provide our Participants with paid internships, while they attended school or worked in tandem with another part-time job. AFJ covered the eight-week internship stipends thanks to our new partnerships with the Amazin’ Mets Foundation and TD Charitable Foundation. These internships area part of AFJ’s growing efforts to provide a path forward to success for Participants through job placement. We are excited to announce that six Participants are about to complete the first pilot cohort and we look forward to placing eight more Participants in the Fall!  

Here are some quotes from AFJ Participants in our Spring internship cohort:

“I love working for Buy Better Foods. Their team is a family and the environment is amazing. They are helping me build so I am good from here on out.”

“The job is definitely one of the coolest opportunities I’ve gotten in a long time. I see the potential in Stuart Cinema and I am excited to see how far it grows.”

Court Advocate, Shantel Brooks, who leads AFJ’s employment placement, shared her thoughts about the program as well: 

“I am happy that AFJ gets to partner with two local minority-owned businesses and that they gave this opportunity to our Participants. I love that Participants get to experience how it is to work. For many of our Participants, it is their first time being employed, having a manager/supervisor, clocking in and out. I am excited that they look forward to receiving their paychecks every Monday. It is fulfilling to watch how they’ve gained confidence over the course of their internships. I look forward to partnering with more small businesses across NYC in the future.”

In addition to the Spring internships, AFJ’s Court Advocates assisted 10 Participants with signing up for Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). SYEP is the nation’s largest youth employment program, connecting NYC youth, between the ages of 14and 24, with career exploration opportunities and paid work experiences each summer. In 2021 and 2022, AFJ hosted SYEP at our two community centers and provided 22 Participants with internship opportunities in film, music and podcasting. This summer, we are once again partnering with the City to place our Participants in local businesses with whom we have established partnerships with. SYEP internships are typically a total of 125 hours, over the course of six weeks, and young people are able to earn up to $2,000. 

We have also had several trainings with certifications with six Participants earning their OSHA-40certification, 12 earning CPR certifications, and two earning Food Handlers Certifications. All of these Participants have taken steps towards advancing their soft and hard skills, and we’re incredibly proud of each and every one of them! 

Finally, with graduation season upon us, we are very proud to announce that five of our Participants are expected to graduate from high school.

Please follow us on Instagram @avenuesforjustice for graduation & internship pictures in the coming months. Be sure to give our Participants a shout out for their accomplishments!