Avenues for Justice’s HIRE Up Interns Have Been Making An Impact Across the Boroughs

At Avenues for Justice (AFJ), we create opportunities that position our Participants for long-term success: whether that is in the courtroom, supporting their educational attainment, or providing job readiness pathways. In 2023, we launched our HIRE Up internship initiative, placing Participants in 8-week paid internships with BIPOC or women-owned small businesses throughout the city. Developed and facilitated by AFJ Job Developer Shantel, these internships have opened career paths in various industries, including hospitality, early education, security, food and beverage, and many more. In a little over two years, 88 Participants have completed a total of 120 internships, with 16 Participants completing the most recent cohort this past June.

In addition to the AFJ paid internship program, we have also partnered with third-party providers to offer apprenticeship opportunities for justice-impacted individuals, as well as the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), which provides internships to tens of thousands of youth each summer. Over the past few weeks, the AFJ team visited several of these internship sites to speak with Participants and hear from their supervisors—all of whom who provided positive feedback about their experience working with our young adults.

“They say teenagers / young adults vote with their feet, and clearly, all our AFJ Participants have been motivated to show up and excel at their internship sites. They’ve voted for their own success!” ~AFJ’s Executive Director Liz Frederick

‍Heaven’s Tiny Tots

Our first internship visit was at Heaven’s Tiny Tots, a daycare in the Bronx. AFJ Participant Anyea works as a Daycare Assistant for three-year-olds and shared that she loves her internship. Her favorite part about working at Heaven’s Tiny Tots is getting big hugs from the kids every morning.

Heaven’s Tiny Tots has been the perfect placement for Anyea who aspires to become a teacher one day. The internship has taught her patience in effectively communicating and working with young children. She's currently saving her paychecks to fulfill her dream of buying a car to travel to new states and places she's never been to before.

“I love being a part of AFJ. They give me a lot of experience with everything that I’ve been dealing with. Heaven’s Tiny Tots has been a great experience.” ~AFJ Participant Anyea

‍Big Tots Little Tikes

Next, we visited Big Tots Little Tikes, a food management company in Harlem. AFJ Participant Antonio works directly with the Executive Chef to prepare healthy lunches for students. Other responsibilities include packing meals, restocking ingredients, washing dishes, and cleaning the workspaces.

Antonio is using his well-earned paychecks to pay his rent and save up for a car. He hopes to pursue a career in construction in the near future and is currently working towards obtaining his GED/HSE.

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“This internship was something new that I’ve never done before. Shantel recommended it, so I came to the interview confident and feeling like myself. I prayed for the best and got hired.” ~AFJ Participant Antonio

‍St. Mark's Yoga Studio

At St. Mark's Yoga Studio in the East Village, we have several Participants working as front desk attendants. AFJ Participant Rafael gave us a tour of the two-floor studio and shared his positive experiences working at St. Mark’s. His favorite part is that he gets free yoga classes, which help him to calm down and learn effective breathing techniques.

When Rafael started working at St. Mark’s, he was shy but quickly came out of his shell as he interacted with yoga enthusiasts. Rafael’s advice for the next cohort of interns is to “be respectful of others and always stay true to yourself."

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“Working with Rafael was a wonderful experience. He works hard, takes direction, communicates his schedule clearly, and brings a pleasant friendliness to the studio.” ~Nick Velkov, Rafael’s Site Supervisor

‍The Nourish Spot

Next, we headed to The Nourish Spot in Queens to visit AFJ Participant Vidal. His responsibilities include making smoothies and preparing online orders. We got to see Vidal in action as he showed us how to make their most popular smoothie, which he was preparing for a takeout order. Vidal is saving his paychecks to buy a much needed patio for his dad’s apartment.

“I learned how to be patient and take my time throughout the day while having important responsibilities.” ~AFJ Participant Vidal

‍CONBODY

Located in the Lower East Side, CONBODY is a nationally recognized fitness brand that employs formerly incarcerated individuals and was started by Coss Marte, a returning citizen himself. We had the opportunity to visit AFJ Participant Joshua, a former AFJ intern who recently got hired for a part-time position!

On a day-to-day basis, Joshua cleans the floors, organizes the closets, wipes down the windows, washes and folds the towels, and cleans the facility. With his paychecks, he hopes to buy the equipment to invest in his dream of becoming a barber. Once he is set up with his equipment, he wants to provide free cuts outside of the CONBODY gym–especially to other AFJ Participants. Joshua is uniquely inspired by Coss and enjoys rereading his book, “ConBody: The Revolutionary Bodyweight Prison Boot Camp," to study and gain inspiration.

Joshua advises other AFJ Participants to be “patient, focus on your work, and don’t be afraid to talk to people. Try to ask more questions and learn more about what you don’t already know.”

‍Drive Change

We then visited Drive Change, a four-month paid culinary program in Brooklyn for returning citizens to receive hands-on culinary training and work toward earning their Food Handlers Certification. In this cohort, AFJ has placed three Participants: Ian, Lloyd, and Michael. On the day of our visit, all three were hard at work completing certification modules for their Food Handler Certifications.

While Michael and Lloyd started the program with no prior cooking experience, Ian shared that he grew up helping his mom cook Filipino food. All three have been learning essential kitchen and cooking skills, including knife cutting skills needed for dicing vegetables and how to perfectly make rice.

All three have expressed interest in pursuing careers in the restaurant industry. When asked what they’ve learned about being on a team, they each highlighted the importance of communication—something they now realize plays a critical role in working in the kitchen.

“Communication is key. If you don’t communicate, you’re not going to know what’s going on around you.” ~AFJ Participant Michael

"A moment at Drive Change that has made me feel proud of myself is showing up on time." ~AFJ Participant Lloyd

“I love the opportunities that Drive Change brings to young adults like myself to gain culinary skills. With a second chance and the opportunity to get my Food Handlers Certification, I can open up a restaurant one day.” ~AFJ Participant Ian

“Partnering with AFJ is a natural alignment with our mission. Interns from AFJ bring lived experiences, perspective, and potential that our sector should not only acknowledge but champion. It's vital we create pathways that affirm their value and allow them to thrive. Working with Michael, Lloyd, and Ian has shown the power of proximity: when you are close to the people and the issues, you’re best positioned to co-create solutions.” ~Nicholas Stanton, Chief Program Officer at Drive Change NYC

‍SYEP Cohort: We All Really Matter (WARM)

As part of our Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) site visits, we visited We All Really Matter (WARM) in Harlem, an organization that supports victims of domestic violence and spreads awareness around this issue. AFJ has two interns, Cameron and Chelsea, working with WARM this summer on community outreach and event production. At events, Cameron and Chelsea help raise awareness about WARM’s mission by distributing flyers, pamphlets, and free giveaways.

Cameron and Chelsea are enjoying their time at WARM because it is both meaningful and raises awareness about such an important cause.

“The fact that we can change someone’s life or help them just by handing out a flyer is amazing.” ~AFJ Participant Cameron

“Working at WARM has taught me that if one person’s not on the same page, everyone’s going to get thrown off—and you can only get on the same page through communication.” ~AFJ Participant Chelsea

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to visit these seven internship sites and to see how our Participants are learning essential job readiness skills, such as managing their work-life balance, maintaining workplace etiquette, mastering timeliness, and saving their paychecks.

“The AFJ Internship program gives small businesses an extra advantage in making sure that small operational chores do not go overlooked. The list of things to do at a small business is long and diverse, and it is easy for some small details to fall through the cracks. But with interns on hand ready to work, we can easily give direction and see that a task is promptly covered.” ~Nick Velkov, Owner of St. Mark’s Yoga

None of this would be possible without AFJ’s supporters, who are both placement sites and funders of our HIRE Up initiative. If you are interested in hosting an AFJ intern for placement in a future cohort, please email Shantel at sbrooks@avenuesforjustice.org.