Meet Kimberly Tyre, NYCHA Resident & Emergency Preparedness Associate
Kimberly Tyre is a longtime Jefferson Houses resident who is committed to bettering her community. She recently became a NYCHA employee, in a position that enables her to pursue her passion for engaging her fellow residents and connecting them to beneficial resources.
In November 2022, Ms. Tyre joined NYCHA’s Emergency Management and Services Department as an Emergency Preparedness Associate; her responsibilities include helping inform residents about how to prepare for hazardous conditions, such as extreme heat, cold weather, coastal storms, and floods.
“What I like about my job is community outreach, going to Family Days and events and informing residents about preparedness services,” Ms. Tyre said. “I’m looking forward to being outdoors and being hands-on, because I really like to work with people, giving them handouts, talking to them, and walking them through the steps of how to be prepared.”
As a resident of Jefferson for more than 20 years, Ms. Tyre has volunteered in her community as an advocate for parents, child welfare issues, and marginalized people. She leads her own nonprofit, Family Benches, which focuses on providing respite care for single parents: “My objective is to minimize the amount of Black and brown children going into foster care.” She is also developing an app for parents with children with individualized education plans (IEP) to help them navigate the school system and gain the necessary support.
Ms. Tyre, a mother of four sons, is also a student at Metropolitan College of New York; she will graduate with a master’s degree in project management this spring.
She previously worked as a substance abuse specialist at the NYC Department of Homeless Services through the NYC Service AmeriCorps program. In 2020, while she was in AmeriCorps, she also participated in the East Harlem Community Health Worker (CHW) training program between NYCHA’s Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability (REES) and Resident Health Initiatives Offices and LaGuardia Community College. The pilot program trained 13 NYCHA residents to support their fellow NYCHA residents and community members in managing their health.
Ms. Tyre said that many of the skills she learned in that program benefit her current role, as it increased her knowledge of how to help manage, educate, and guide people through large systems, such as hospitals and health insurance.
During the CHW program, she completed 130 hours of on-the-job experience as an intern at Lincoln Hospital and studied topics such as communication skills, health and wellness, and navigating health care systems. She especially liked that the program allowed participants to discuss their NYCHA community’s specific needs.
“I have worked in the community as an advocate for public housing residents, public school children, and on child welfare issues,” Ms. Tyre said. “I went into the Community Health Worker program to have a well-rounded perspective because I’m passionate about working in my community in multiple capacities and I wanted to ensure that I had a holistic approach on helping my community get what it needs. I’m happy I now get to work at NYCHA with residents.”
If you know a resident who is looking for AmeriCorps service and training experience in the community health sector, please encourage them to learn more about the NYCHA Health Corps program. Residents can contact REES at 718-289-8100 to complete an interest form (or complete the form online here) until member recruitment begins in May 2023.