NYCHA Health Corps: New Program Trains Residents in Public Health

A new AmeriCorps program is providing NYCHA residents with on-the-job work experience and training in public health while they work to improve health outcomes in neighborhoods across the city. 

NYCHA Health Corps is the second AmeriCorps program specifically designed to foster leadership in NYCHA residents through public service and the first to do so with a focus on public health and health equity. NYCHA residents serve full-time at community-based nonprofits and public agencies supporting health and community partners working to advance equitable health outcomes across public housing developments. The program is administered by NYC Service in partnership with NYCHA. 

“When NYC Service saw the public health AmeriCorps grant opportunity, we immediately connected with NYCHA Health Initiatives to help create a program that has robust opportunities for NYCHA residents to participate as members and to increase the health outcomes for the NYCHA community,” said Aaron Miner, Deputy Chief Service Officer, National Service and Fiscal Operations at NYC Service. “We are so proud to see the impact of the service that our AmeriCorps members have made in the inaugural year and look forward to further impact in the years to come.” 

The inaugural cohort enrolled 26 members, and the program is expected to be expanded to eventually serve more residents. NYCHA Health Corps Member Tamara Hinton is a Washington Houses resident who works as a Maternity Health Equity Advocate for the NYC Health Department. 

“We provide information in the community to people of reproductive age in regard to their rights when they’re giving birth because of the high maternity mortality rate among Black women and women of color,” Ms. Hinton said. “We also get information from other departments to share, including doula services, safe sleep, and breastfeeding.” 

The Health Department is one of eight host sites where residents are currently serving nine-month service terms; the others include Health + Hospitals, SCAN Harbor, Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership (NMPP), Phoenix House, One Community, Neighbors in Action, and NYCHA. Next year’s cohort will have a 10-month service term. 

“As we work with partners to advance health equity, we see time and time again that resident leadership in health is the foundation of most successful initiatives,” said Andrea Mata, NYCHA’s Director of Health Initiatives. “We are grateful to Corps Members, NYC Service, host site partners, and the National AmeriCorps Program for investing in this exciting new collaboration.”  

The second goal of NYCHA Health Corps is to provide pathways for NYCHA residents into public health-related careers. Ms. Hinton, who is a former high school science teacher and Army member, has a master’s in biomedical sciences from Barry University and wants to work for the NYC Health Department in the future. “I’m hoping to use this as a foot in the door. I would like to be a public health advocate. If I had the perfect choice, I would work in the Sexually Transmitted Infections department in contract tracing, counseling, and prevention. I’m also interested in maternity health.” 

Da Quan Brown is a Marcy Houses resident who works as a Fresh Pantries Program Assistant at One Community’s Fresh Pantries Program. The program distributes food at four sites: two weekly distributions at Farragut Houses and Ingersoll Houses and two once-a-month distributions at Whitman Houses and Atlantic Terminal. He assists with ordering food, getting suppliers, picking up donations, and distributing food on the weekends.  

“I wanted to join the NYCHA Health Corps because it is an important initiative and there are a lot of personal benefits, with the added benefit of being able to help others on a consistent basis,” Mr. Brown said. “I read about the goals of this position and how they want to try to make the demographic of the pantry clientele match the demographic of the community it serves.” 

A personal benefit both Ms. Hinton and Mr. Brown mentioned was the Eli Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, valued at $4,546.50 upon successful completion of the program. Mr. Brown wants to work for the NYPD; he is currently working on an associate degree in liberal arts at SUNY Finger Lakes Community College and plans to further his education by studying criminal justice in the future. Ms. Hinton recently applied to Borough of Manhattan Community College to pursue an associate degree in Spanish because she believes being bilingual would allow her to help more people.  

Other NYCHA Health Corps benefits are over 200 hours of learning and professional development, a living allowance of up to $23,800, a MetroCard for commuting, a Public Health Essentials certificate from Cornell University, childcare assistance, health insurance, and more. 

Ms. Hinton added that being able to work with supervisors in the field is an unexpected perk. “It’s great to have my supervisors and be working with these powerful women who are mentoring me. They push me to speak in public, to make myself more marketable. They’re very supportive and it’s great to be working with people who really want to see me succeed once I complete the program.” 

Ms. Hinton is also grateful to NYCHA’s Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability (REES) Office for connecting her with NYCHA Health Corps: “REES emails with a lot of opportunities to be able to better yourself. I’m grateful to live at NYCHA, to have an affordable place to live, and to have all these opportunities.” 

“NYCHA is excited to partner with NYC Service to create opportunities where residents can expand on their existing skillsets, gain hands-on work experience, and be connected to a range of AmeriCorps benefits, all while serving their communities,” said Josephine Melendez, Assistant Director of Adult Education & Training for REES. 

Applications for host sites are now open through April 14. Nonprofit and public organizations interested in applying to serve as a host site can visit NYC Service or email nychahealthcorps@cityhall.nyc.gov to learn more. 

The application period for residents interested in applying to serve in the next NYCHA Health Corps cohort opens later this spring. 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.