Improving Building Efficiency One Day…Tearing Buildings Down the Next

 

It’s windy and the weather is colder than the forecast predicted, but it’s easy to stay warm when you’re bundled in a head-to-toe Tyvek suit. Along with respirators, gloves and safety goggles, the suits are part of the uniform worn by the Green City Force Corpsmembers tasked with salvaging homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

It’s been almost six months since Sandy struck, but for some New Yorkers the storm might as well have just hit yesterday. Down in Sheepshead Bay, a neighborhood of Southern Brooklyn located along the Rockaway Inlet, many homes were completely inundated by storm surges. Even now, home interiors are still filled with mud-coated furniture. The walls are still covered in moldy sheetrock and wet insulation. Most families are simply not capable of addressing the storm damage on their own. This is where Green City Force comes in.

The goal of Green City Force, a Brooklyn-based Service Corps that enrolls residents of New York City Housing Authority buildings, is to end the cycle of poverty and protect the environment by training low-income young adults for “green collar” careers. The Corpsmembers, who range in age from 18 to 24, spend six months getting hands on training and learning about fields related to the clean energy economy, including energy efficiency, weatherization, urban agriculture, and improving community environmental health. Corpsmembers also participate in community service projects; but lately many of their additional service projects have focused on Sandy recovery.  

Today, a cloudy Thursday in mid-April, marks the third time that this team of Green City Force Corpsmembers has helped with the Sheepshead Bay cleanup efforts, building on the work of last Fall’s Corpsmembers. Using prepaid MetroCards issued by Green City Force, many Corpsmembers have traveled well over an hour to get here. Their first stop is a trailer run by Occupy Sandy; a coalition of Occupy Wall Street members working to distribute volunteers and resources in storm-damaged neighborhoods. Green City Force and Occupy Sandy are not officially affiliated, but the Corps has arranged to spend the day volunteering in whatever homes Occupy Sandy has scheduled for cleanup.


 

At the trailer, about 10 Corpsmembers from the Green City Force EmPower Team and their Crew Leader, Kenta Darley-Usmar, gather protective gear, trash bags and crowbars. Their first job today will involve taking down the sheetrock and fiberglass insulation from the interior of a damaged storage room. The walls and insulation – wet, muddy, and covered in mold – crumble easily, necessitating the use of respirators. Corpsmembers use hammers and crowbars to break holes in the walls, then use their hands to pull down the sheetrock. Other Corpsmembers collect the debris in trash bags and take it to the curb.

After a pizza lunch provided by the grateful owners of the storage room, the EmPower team heads off to another house. This second home has already had the sheetrock and insulation removed, so Corpsmembers get to work pulling out moldy kitchen cabinets, doors and door frames. Some Corpsmembers wait outside and use hammers to remove nails and staples from the wood. Though they admit there’s something therapeutic about being able to tear things down, the Corpsmembers are solemn and very respectful of the property.


 

“It feels good to help families. This is a lot of work so you know there’s no way they could’ve done it on their own. But we get it done,” said Angie Lacy, a Corpsmember with the EmPower team.

Angie and a fellow Corpsmember, Angela Almonte, commented on how helping muck out damaged homes is in many ways easier than the outreach work they do as members of the EmPower team. Except for on service days like this one, the EmPower team normally spends four days a week doing environmental education in low-income neighborhoods. Their main job is to inform eligible residents about a state program through which they can receive energy efficient appliances for free. Corpsmembers then help with the application process and follow-up work. The team also distributes CFL light bulbs and information about ways people can reduce their utility bills. Eventually the Corpsmembers will become certified to actually do energy efficiency audits and install aerators and eco-friendly appliances. As Angela points out, helping muck out damaged homes is actually very applicable to the program’s main goal because it allows Corpsmembers the opportunity to learn about building safety and see the skeletal structure of buildings.

Angela discusses how the EmPower team’s outreach work can often be challenging because it involves having to get the attention of sometimes reluctant residents and then gain their trust. Whereas tearing down a wall is pretty straightforward, outreach work can be unpredictable. When they can, the team tries to set up their table in front of an apartment building that has a looped driveway so that residents can see there are multiple Corpsmembers all working together.

“Sometimes people kind of don’t feel like they’re being helped,” said Angela. “But it’s a really good feeling when you see that they know they’re being helped and they really appreciate it.”

Angela and Angie are both very dedicated to completing the six months of GCF and continuing on to college. Angela hopes to study architecture, while Angie wants to pursue a degree in biology. Both young women have an interest in science that brought them to Green City Force in the first place — Angela attended the Gateway Academy for Environmental Research and Technology; a public high school where she had the chance to take classes in biotechnology and robotics. Angie took botany in school and excelled in environmental science. When Angela heard about GCF from her mother, and Angie saw a flyer for the program in her apartment building, they were both intrigued by the prospect of gaining green industry job experience.

“I’ve learned a lot while I’ve been here. It’s opened my eyes to a lot of things, like how the earth really is warming up, and how we’re running out of resources,” said Angie. “We’ve been to a lot of places and we’ve experienced a lot of things – things I definitely wouldn’t have experienced on my own. Our resumes are going to look great by the end of this.” 

Finding a New Beginning in Your Own Community – the NYC Justice Corps

 

Finding a steady job can be difficult for anyone who’s been involved with the court system, but it can be especially hard for a young offender. A jail sentence can disrupt a teen’s educational path and prevent the development of basic job skills and work experience most young adults gain in their early twenties. Without a resume, a high school diploma, or job market savvy, many young offenders are left with few options and return to the bad habits that landed them in trouble. Fortunately, there are programs like NYC Justice Corps to help these youth stay off the streets and improve their educational and employment outcomes.

The mission of NYC Justice Corps is straightforward, but the organization’s comprehensive programming touches many people in the communities the Corps serves. Participants in the Corps learn work readiness skills, gain hands-on job experience, can earn their GED or trade certification, and receive personal counseling and support. Corpsmembers acquire their hands-on experience by completing volunteer projects that benefit local churches, daycare centers, senior care facilities and other organizations in need of assistance. Essentially, Corpsmembers benefit from having a second chance to build a future, and other members of the community benefit from their service. 

To be eligible to join the Corps, participants must be between the ages of 18 and 24 and must live within one of nearly 20 zip codes in Harlem and the Bronx. They also must be on probation or parole, have been released from jail or prison within the last year, or have participated in an alternative-to-incarceration program within the past year. Though some Corpsmembers once participated in illegal activities that hurt the South Bronx, the Justice Corps offers them a chance to give back to the community and show people that they’ve changed.  

“A lot of these Corpsmembers are natural leaders, and it’s just all about how they funnel their energy. There are a lot of people out there who will follow you, so why not have them follow you to do something good?” said Juan Gonzalez, a Senior Site Supervisor at the Corps’s Fulton Avenue location in the South Bronx. “A lot of these kids could be counselors. They could be social workers. They could have active, positive lives instead of going around doing things they shouldn’t be doing. Everybody has something they shouldn’t be doing, but there’s always a point in your life when everything clicks and you realize ‘I need to stop doing this. I need to move forward.’ I’m hoping that our Corpsmembers who haven’t heard that click yet can get in tune with it. We can’t force them to change, but we can help.”

Juan is new to NYC Justice Corps, but he has worked in youth development for over 25 years. He has a great deal of experience working with homeless, runaway, and LGBT youth and has developed a passion for helping young people find their way. He likes how the model of the Justice Corps helps its young participants get on their feet through structured service projects that help the whole community. He hopes that these service projects help Corpsmembers build a connection with the neighborhood that leads them to want to stay, build a family, and continue to help local organizations grow and thrive.


 

Recently, Corpsmembers have helped manage the food pantry at a church that supplies food distribution efforts at other churches throughout the Bronx. On Mondays, Corpsmember pack over 200 grocery bags. On Tuesday mornings they help distribute the bags to people in the community. Wednesdays and Thursdays are when they unload food delivery trucks and prepare it to be picked up by representatives from some 80 other congregations. On Tuesdays, there is usually a long line, wrapped around the corner, of people in need of food assistance.

“This kind of giving involves working hand-in-hand with the community. You might even see someone who you know,” said Juan. “When our guys see that line around the corner, I hope something clicks and they think, how could you hurt a community that’s already hurting so much?”

Service projects, which might range from food distribution to mural painting and lawn maintenance, are only one aspect of the Justice Corps’ program. After Corpsmembers are recruited and enrolled, they have about one month of orientation and training. They then must complete about 10 – 14 weeks of community service projects. The final step of the six month process is a roughly two-month-long internship with an outside organization. Partway through the community service portion of the program, Corpsmembers undergo OSHA training that allows them to perform light construction work. They might help paint and plaster the exterior of a church, or put up new sheetrock walls in a daycare center.

“We just want to be visible in the community, through our work and through word of mouth from the organizations we work with. Just through word of mouth we get referred a lot and we’re pretty well known in the South Bronx,” said Andrew McKee, a former Corpsmember and current Site Supervisor who won a 2011 Corpsmember of the Year Award.

In his position as Senior Site Supervisor, one of Juan’s responsibilities is to do outreach and find more organizations in the Bronx that might benefit from the services of Corpsmembers. He knows there are plenty of churches and community centers that would love to have a few helping hands – it’s now just a matter of making sure they’re aware of the program. Juan also envisions a future in which more young people know about the Justice Corps, too. Right now, many Corpsmembers are mandated to join the program or hear about it from a counselor. Elizabeth Murrell and Phillip Crosby are two examples of Corpsmembers who came to the program on a counselor or parole officer’s recommendation.

“When I came out of jail I was looking for something to do — something I could do with my time that would help me stay out of trouble, stay off the streets. And then I found out they were paying here. I can get my money and do something with myself, and possibly get something in the end. So it was perfect,” said Elizabeth. “I never actually had a job before, so being here and getting some experience has been really helpful. They taught me how to organize and how to dress and how to act in the business world.”


Computers in the former NYC Justice Corps alumni center. Corpsmembers can use the Computers on Fridays or during downtime. The Site Supervisors hope to install software on the computers that can help Corpsmember learn basic office skills. 
 

Elizabeth and Phillip are part of the same cohort, but they participate in slightly different programming. Elizabeth spends some of her days in the field working on service projects and some of her days in the classroom working towards her GED. Phillip, who came into the Corps with a bachelor’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, spends every day on the work site. Just as Elizabeth is studying for her GED, other Corpsmembers spend some of their days at Bronx Community College where they work to become certified plumbers or electricians. On Fridays, all Corpsmembers work with counselors to prepare their resumes and plan their next steps. Fridays are also when they participate in mock interviews, receive job training, and have a chance to meet with a psychiatrist.

At the end of the six month program, Elizabeth hopes to have her GED and be able to pursue a hands-on career in construction. Phillip hopes to pursue a trade, but he has yet to decide which specific field he wants to enter.

“Before the end of the six months even comes, we’re supposed to already have our foot in the door at an internship or a job. Basically they help us throughout the six months so that before we graduate we’re supposed to already know what we’re going to do. They help us, but it’s on us to make the initial steps,” said Phillip. “This whole program prepares you for an actual job, for the real world. What you’re doing here, you could be doing the same exact thing in a job.”

Both Elizabeth and Phillip say they’ve learned a great deal in the past couple months. Elizabeth says she’s brushed up on her math skills and has improved her communications skills. Phillip says he’s learned how to interview better and says he was surprised to learn about how organized and complex the church’s food distribution system is. Both Corpsmembers say they would recommend the program to other young people looking for a fresh start.

“It’s not a waste,” said Elizabeth. “You actually do something with your time while you’re here and you can benefit from it in the long run.”

Senate Holds Hearing on Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2013

Yesterday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Public Lands Subcommittee held a hearing on the Public Lands Service Corps of Act of 2013.  Subcommittee Chairman Manchin (WV) presided over the legislative hearing on 20 public lands bills.

Senators Reid and Baucus each testified in support of public land bills specific to Nevada and Montana. The administration provided two witnesses for the hearing; Jim Pena, Associate Deputy Chief, National Forrest System, USFS, and Jamie Connell, Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management, DOI. The administration’s testimony included strong support S. 360 which they explained “will help fulfill their commitment to build a 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC).” The Public Lands Service Coalition Director of Government Relations, Joe Gersen, submitted written testimony in support of the legislation. The legislation will next move to be marked up by the committee and the Public Lands Service Coalition expects that to happen in late May.

There is still time for you to reach out to your Senators and Representative and ask them to support the Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2013. The Sierra Club, a key ally and member of the Public Lands Service Coalition, has setup a fast way to send your Members of Congress an email showing support for the Public Lands Service Corps Act. This tool is a great way for your board members, alums, and friends of your organization to express their support of the Public Lands Service Corps Act.  It only take a few minutes to send a message in three easy steps, click “take action” below to get started. Please share with your networks.  Please take action today!

Sierra Club Currents: News and Action Center
Take Action: Employ Youth to Protect Our Natural HeritageTake Action: Employ Youth to Protect Our Natural Heritage

Our public lands are facing a backlog of $25 billion worth of essential maintenance projects. At the same time, the youth unemployment rate hovers at 13 percent. The Public Lands Service Corps Act would authorize the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior to administer conservation corps activities on our public lands.

Take Action
Tell Congress to put young Americans to work protecting and restoring our public lands. Pass the Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2013.

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Hosts 20th Anniversary Benefit for Civic Works, Discusses Green Economy

On Wednesday evening this week, several members of The Corps Network staff were proud to attend Civic Works’ 20th Anniversary Benefit.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hosted the event and praised Civic Works for their long and successful history of getting young people engaged in addressing critical environmental needs, the green economy, and giving back to their Baltimore communities while helping raise political awareness of a range of issues from environmental stewardship to climate change.

Kennedy’s sister, and Civic Works co-founder Kathleen Kennedy Townsend also spoke (shown above), and thanked the Baltimore community for their many years of support. In an interview with WYPR (Baltimore’s NPR affiliate), Townsend discusses how Civic Works’ director Dana Stein came to her with the idea to create the Corps. You can also listen to segments where 1) Dana talks about how geothermal energy will cool and heat Civic Works’ headquarters at the historic Clifton Mansion in the future and 2) the restoration of the Mansion. 

WBAL 11 also did a segment about the event and Civic Works’ 20 year impact that can be watched here.

Since 1993, Civic Works has:

  • Converted 190 vacant lots into community gardens and green spaces
  • Rehabilitated 55 houses, repaired 253 houses, and weatherized 275 houses for low and moderate income families
  • Made energy efficiency improvements in more than 4,000 households resulting in projected savings of more than $3 million in utility costs
  • Tutored and mentored 33,809 students
  • Provided service opportunities for 2,650 AmeriCorps members
  • Recruited 32,544 volunteers
  • Assisted 157 participants in earning a GED
  • Placed 510 participants in healthcare and green jobs
  • Grown more than 15,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce for sale to local communities
  • Planted 25,477 trees

[Video] Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell Highlights The Corps Network and Student Conservation Association for Volunteer Opportunities in Earth Day Chat

On Monday of this week, our new Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell participated in a special Earth Day webchat.

When asked a question about the Department of Interior partnering with nonprofits and corporations to boost volunteerism on public lands, here’s what Secretary Jewell had to say:

The Climate Change Work of Seattle’s EarthCorps

EarthCorps recently hosted a U.S. Department of State staff member. They work with the State Department to secure visas for EarthCorps’ international participants. Secretary of State John Kerry has a strong interest in climate change, so EarthCorps was asked to provide some information about their work in the context of climate change. 

They’ve put together a nifty handout which highlights the work of three international alumni as well as two EarthCorps initiatives that all focus on climate change.

Download it here. 

American YouthWorks’ Parc Smith Profiled by Austin News Site

American YouthWorks’ Parc Smith builds on a family legacy of fairness

By Michael Barnes
American-Statesman Staff

In rural Erath County, white townsmen in hoods once threatened Parc Smith’s grandfather.

“They demanded: ‘Why are you employing a black man when there’s white men out of work,’” Smith, 41, recounts. “He called them out by name: ‘Billy, Johnny, Bob, I’m going to count to three and start shooting.’ At two, he started shooting. They left and never messed with him again.”

Smith, CEO of a rejuvenated American YouthWorks, which blends education, service and jobs training, learned about social decency from an early age. His father, who joined civil rights protests at the University of Texas during the 1960s, taught at historically black colleges. His mother came from a long line of Texas workers who helped their neighbors in any way that they could.

“I was always taught to be good to all people,” he says. “Race and color, economic status don’t matter.”

Once a prospective forest ranger who served on conservation crews, Smith’s personal search for a way to help others took him outdoors. It’s easy to imagine the relaxed and wholesome-looking Smith, 41, as a happy-go-lucky kid. He camped with the YMCA, which employed his mother in Waco, before heading to the Dublin and Stephenville area.

“My parents were very supportive,” he says. “And pretty hands-off. I was free to do what I wanted.”

Playing football in a small Texas town also gave him something of a free pass from serious trouble. Popular, he was asked by his classmates to speak out against the school district’s dress code. Generally a respectful student, he wore a T-shirt to school that read: “Only a fascist would tell a kid how to wear his hair.”

Continue Reading at Statesman.com 

Cool Map Shows Where AmeriCorps NCCC Crews are Working Nationwide

Each week, AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) updates a map that shows where their crews are deployed nationwide. While there are 5 major training campuses for NCCC, it’s clear from the map that the impact of this residential Corps program stretches far and wide beyond those areas!

Learn more about AmeriCorps NCCC

African Americans on the Front Line of Environmental Conservation


Image taken from BET.com
 

“Commentary: How it Helps America for Blacks to Go Green”

Taken from BET.com, written by Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is CEO of Green For All, a national organization working to build an inclusive green economy.
 

Drake. Wiz Khalifa. Ludacris. Common. Cee Lo. The Black Eyed Peas. Actor Lamman Rucker—some of the most recognizable talents in the Black community share a commitment to protecting the planet.

Chances are, you hadn’t heard that Rucker serves on the board of Green for All; or that Ludacris and his mom, and Cee Lo Green and his sister both run foundations that educate kids about environmental issues. Within and outside of the Black community, the efforts of African-Americans from all walks of life to create healthy and safe neighborhoods and combat climate change often go unnoticed.

Calling ourselves “environmentalists” may not be the primary way we self-identify, but Black people overwhelmingly are green—and for good reason. We are on the front lines when it comes to pollution and climate change.

Consider this: Most African-Americans—68 percent—live near polluting power plants linked to elevated rates of asthma, heart disease and premature death. In fact, one in six  African-American kids suffers from asthma, compared with one in ten nationwide. That’s not an accident.

In the face of climate-related disasters like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, neighborhoods with the fewest resources have a harder time escaping, surviving, and recovering. One study showed that African-Americans living in Los Angeles are more than twice as likely to die in a heat wave than other residents of the city, because they tend to live near “heat islands” created by dense concrete, lack of shade and limited access to air conditioning.

So when we talk about solutions to global warming and pollution, we’re talking about the health and safety of our neighborhoods. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to be famous to make a difference.

Take a look at Brittany Stalworth. As a Green For All Ambassador at Howard University, Stalworth launched “Green is the New Black,” an initiative that engaged college students in issues like environmental justice, food justice, and green jobs.

In Washington, D.C., the Congressional Black Caucus continues to lead the way in protecting America’s clean air and water. In fact, the Black Caucus has one of the best environmental voting records in Congress, and has championed efforts to create green jobs and protect communities from toxic pollution. And let’s not forget the president—the Obama administration has taken groundbreaking steps to fight climate change, like announcing new clean car standards that will cut carbon pollution. Meanwhile, Lisa Jackson, the first African-American head of the Environmental Protection Agency, enacted bold protections against mercury and other pollutants that have long threatened public health.

We’re hearing new voices join the chorus, too—our Rebuild the Dream song competition has led to some powerful new tracks, like “7 Billion” by artists Silent C and Invest.

Countless business leaders are part of the solution, too. Take a look at 23-year-old Aisha Dorsey. She started her own company in Baltimore helping protect homeowners and the environment from risks like asbestos and lead. Or Kareem Dale, a graduate of Morehouse College, who started a business that has helped thousands of low-income homes in Houston save energy—slashing global warming pollution in the process. 

Even kids are joining the effort. One of the things that inspires me most is seeing young entrepreneurs finding innovative solutions—like the kids from the KI Eco Center in Indianapolis, who launched an initiativethat uses rain barrels to save water, put people to work, and prevent pollution.

As we celebrate Earth Day on April 22, I’m amazed and deeply inspired by all of the progress that’s being made to build a more sustainable future. Earth Day may not be the first day that comes to mind when you think of the Black community, but the simple truth is that African-Americans are leading some of the most innovative and effective efforts to save the planet—from campus initiatives to legislative victories.

It’s not just that communities of color have a lot to lose if we don’t take action on climate change; we have a lot to gain if we do.

For one thing, when it comes to creating good careers and fighting poverty, the green economy is a powerhouse. Green jobs pay more—about 13 percent more—than other jobs, and they tend to require less formal education. That opens doors into the middle class. Fields like energy efficiency create local, high-wage jobs that can’t be shipped overseas. That represents tremendous opportunity for historically disadvantaged communities.

The challenges facing our planet are daunting. But we can solve them—in fact, we already are. Together, we can do even more to protect our air and water and build healthier, more prosperous communities. But we need your help. 

To find out more about what you can do, and Earth Day events near you, visit Green for All.

 

How the Founder of Vermont Youth Conservation Corps got his Start in the Corps World

 

Taken from the Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa newsletter, Corps Update, April 2013

Thomas Hark’s Corps experience stretches back to the federal Youth Conservation Corps, where he served as a crew leader in 1979 in Young Harris, Ga. It was an experience that changed his life. Hark applied to Minnesota’s state youth program a few years later and was hired as the camp director in 1984 and 1985. He was instrumental in bringing together what were then two  summer youth camps: one based at St. Croix State Park and one for deaf and hard-of-hearing members at Tettegouche State Park. Today’s Summer Youth Corps remains an integrated program with about 15% deaf or hard-of-hearing participants.

Hark went on to found the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps in 1986. That first year, four youth served for six weeks. Since then, programs have grown steadily and now include a year-round program for the blind, high school leadership, a robust traditional summer program and agricultural leadership/farming programs. Hark said Conservation Corps Minnesota was the stepping stone that allows him to do what he loves doing now. “I pinch myself every day. I do not think anyone could be as lucky as I have been, to spend their life in education AND conservation!”