December 2, 2024 • 16 mins
The Children's Village, one of the great family support non-profits in our city, recognizes that housing alone isn't enough for those experiencing housing insecurity. A standout feature of the The Eliza, newly opened affordable housing Inwood, is an on-site teaching kitchen, in partnership with Emma’s Torch, a non-profit social enterprise that empowers refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking through culinary education. Our guests are Dr. Jeremy Kohomban, President and CEO of The Children’s Village, and Kerry Brodie founder and executive director of Emma's Torch. For more, visit childrensvillage.org and emmastorch.org.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to get connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven Light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to get connected and thank you for listening. The
Children's Village, one of the great family supportive nonprofits in
our city, recognizes that housing alone isn't enough for those
experiencing housing insecurity. Through their initiative, The Eliza, they provide
not just shelter, but also essential services like financial literacy workshops,
mental health support, and employment training. A standout feature of
(00:36):
the Eliza, newly opened and Inwood, is its on site
teaching kitchen. In partnership with Emma's Torch, a nonprofit social
enterprise that empowers refugees, assilees, and survivors of human trafficking
through culinary education. We'll talk about the project they're working
on together with doctor Jeremy Cahumman, President and CEO of
the Children's Village, and Carrie Brody, founder and Executive director
(00:58):
of Emma's Torch. Jeremy and Carrie, thank you for being
on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Thank you, thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You can find out more about both organizations at Children's
Village dot org and Emma's Torch dot org. So Jeremy,
the Children's Village serves over twenty thousand children and families
each year. Last time we spoke, I think you were
serving a little bit fewer. I know the demand has
gone up because there's so many things that have changed
just in the last year. Let's talk about your scope
of services, or if you could please.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Our scope has not changed one hundred and seventy years
doing the same thing. Three populations serving young people touched
by family separation due to child welfare investigations often understood
as foster care, children and young adults touched by juvenile
and criminal justice, and then children trafficked within the United
(01:51):
States and in and out of the United States. Three populations.
One mission, and the mission is to get kids back
to family or to create family. We believe that kids
just do better when they're with family. Group homes, residential programs, hospitals, prisons,
(02:12):
those are not places for children. Family is the grounding
that children need.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Affordable housing is part of your portfolio. I know it
has evolved over the years. Can you talk about how
that has sort of grown to your philosophy of how
supportive housing should empower residents as well.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Two things. One is as you reunite children with family,
you realize that they need to live somewhere, and so
that took us into this area of housing. But we
went in knowing that we didn't want to become an
affordable housing developer because ninety percent of the affordable housing
in the United States continues to be built in our
most racially segregated and burdened communities. And the the data
(03:01):
on second generation success is pretty clear. It's where you
live and where your children go to school. Right, that's
the game changing in the United States. Where you live
and where your children go to school. If we continue
to build housing where we are building it now, that's
not going to let us change the future for so many.
(03:23):
So we locked into this idea that if we could
build in desirable neighborhoods, if we could build integrated housing
that's beautiful places where you and I and our parents
could live, then life becomes better and the promise of
our democracies within reach to the second generation. That's where
(03:44):
we are, and that's what the Eliza, that's what Harlem Dowley,
that's what pig scale, that's what Dobbs Ferry is all
about building beautiful, affordable and desirable communities.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
I invite listeners to take a look at the Eliza online.
It is a beautiful building. It opened this past June
in in Wood, one hundred and seventy four deeply affordable
homes above the revitalized in Wood Library. So housing, of course,
is a natural there. And what else did you want
to include? We're going to get to M's torch, but
(04:13):
beyond the housing, right.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
We wanted to add the things that we I would
want for my own children and bring it into that community.
So we built a teaching kitchen. We have a performance space,
we have a sensory room, we have a stem lab.
We have common spaces where the community, not just our tenants,
can come in and participate. And that's what it takes. Right.
(04:38):
It's easy to talk about community, but we never become
community unless we're doing things together. Separation has been the
game in so many of so much of our history.
We want to bring people back together and Emma's torch
was a natural connection.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
How did that?
Speaker 4 (04:56):
You know?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
The idea of a teaching kitchen is fantastic. It might
not be top of mind, right A cooking school in
this affordable housing space. So how did the collaboration come
to play? If you want to talk about it first
and then we'll get to carry great.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Well, we have a couple of teaching kitchens and love
them because everyone likes good food, and we have a
lot of candidates for cooking and we were looking for
a partner and a friend of mine in DC said, hey,
have you heard of m Stage. I said, of course
I have, and he said, my wife volunteers for that group.
(05:29):
Please get to know them. So I went and did
some research connected with Carry and felt that we had
a couple other parties interested in this, but we felt
that Emma's Torch understood us because of the work that
we do in a city where migrants have been a
headline right for the last two years, in a city
(05:51):
where young people aging at a foster care and criminal
and juvenile justice is a headline, in a city where
human trafficking is still a react, we felt that Emma's
Torch was the right partner for this project.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
We're speaking with doctor Jeremy Cahumban, President and CEO of
Children's Village and Carrie Brody, founder and executive director of
Emma's Torch. Going to find out more about MMA's Torch
in just a moment, you can online at Emmastorch dot
org and Children's Village dot org. You're listening to get
connected on one oh six point seven Light FM. I'mina
del Rio Carrie Brody. For people who aren't familiar with
(06:27):
Emma's Torch. What do you do? You've started in twenty
sixteen with what goal?
Speaker 5 (06:32):
So we have one mission, and that is to empower refugees,
assylies and survivors of human trafficking through culinary education. We're
a social enterprise, so we have a cafe, we'll actually
two cafes now in New York and one in Washington,
d C. As well as a catering business that takes
us all over and a line of holiday gifts that
you can purchase nationwide.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
And the idea is that we start.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
With how do we ensure that the newest members of
our community have the skills and the tools that they
need to thrive. It begins with finding jobs, finding opportunities
to earn a living, to pursue their own goals with dignity.
And so that's what Amastruk has been doing for the
last eight years and we look forward to doing for
many more.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
So, who are the people who train in your kitchens?
We have assiles, but where do they come from? Where
are their backgrounds? How do they come to train in
your kitchens? How do you find each other?
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Our students come from all over the world.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
I think at last guests, we had about forty five
different countries represented in our alumni population. And they find
out about us through refugee resettlement agencies, homeless shelters, mental
health clinics, legal aid societies, and they are referred to
our program. And when they enter our doors, they leave
behind anything else that they don't want to bring in,
and we help them look towards the future of how
(07:46):
do you pursue your own goals? And so it's really
wonderful we walk into our kitchens. There's always if there's
five students, there's ten different languages, and it just creates
this incredible environment of shared learning.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
What has been your trajectory or what do you know
about the trajectory of your graduates over time? As word
has gone out from start to now.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
It's been fascinating to see the changing trajectory both of
us as a new organization that opened to twenty sixteen,
and of course for our students. We've worked with over
five hundred students at this point, and so watching their
stories unfold has been remarkable because in many ways, their
stories are the stories of all of us. We have
students who have gone on to be promoted year over
year and are now actually supervising other alumni from our program.
(08:28):
We have students who have bought home, students who have
begun their own businesses. Last year, I got a call
from a reporter asking for a quote about the hot
new restaurant they were profiling, and it was one of
our alumni. And for me, what's so special is that we,
of course we're mission driven, but data informs, so we're
tracking there earning six times more their first year out
than they did prior to the program. The return on
(08:50):
investment philanthropically is ten x when we get to ten years.
But more than that, it's about the human stories. It's
the person reaching out to me on Mother's Day telling
me how their children are doing because now they have
a job, now they have the choices that they can make,
and so it's really been special to see each of
these stories unfold.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Jeremy was talking about the community, about integrating into the community.
That's part of the reason for your success, right, the
partnerships that have expanded over time. You could not do
this work without the organizations like the Children's Village you've
been working with. Can you talk a little bit about
that and the reception.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Absolutely, when I founded the organization, I think it was
really important for me and for everybody that we worked
with to understand that we're grappling with some of the biggest,
most pernicious problems that faced humanity.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
There's one hundred million people this placed worldwide.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
And so it would take a lot of hubris to
say and we are going to solve this on our own.
And actually, what it turns out is that the network
of support, the community organizations, the church groups, the synagogue groups,
the moss groups, the incredible organizations like the Children's Village,
if we can harness those powers together, then we can
chip away at these deeply rooted problems. And so being
(09:59):
connect with Jeremy was just such a gift because we
were trying to find out how can we expand we
have a huge wait list.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
We know that this need is increasing and we want to.
Speaker 5 (10:08):
Keep up with it because we have a piece of
the puzzle that works. And so this partnership, and I
think more broadly, Jeremy and the Children's village perspective on
partnership is so critical to our work because you know,
they say it takes a village, and it truly does.
And what I always like to add to that is
and the village does better when it does those things together.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
And so I'm very grateful for all of these partnerships.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So what is the vision for the teaching kitchen at
the Eliza, What will it teach people? And by the way,
who is doing the training?
Speaker 5 (10:37):
So our vision at this beautiful kitchen that the second
that Jeremy sent me those pictures I was so excited,
is very similar to what we're doing in Brooklyn. It's
an eleven week fully paid and this is really critical.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
We pay our students whether.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
They are in an English class, going on a job
interview somewhere else, learning fundamental culinary skills, or working in
our social enterprises. So they're earning full time wages for
the entirety of the program. They're with us for eleven weeks.
The first part of the program they're going to be
learning fundamental culinary skills as well as what we call employability,
equity and empowerment training. And what a better setting to
(11:11):
do it in than in the Eliza where that is
I mean in as much as there is a beautiful
facility that is ingrained in the very foundation of it.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
And then in the second part.
Speaker 5 (11:21):
The Eliza where we are house in the Eliza is
going to be focusing on catering, So they'll be executing
the weddings, the un secretary dinners that we've been doing,
all of those pieces that are off site. They will
be creating the food and serving it. And then at
the end of that program at eleven weeks, they graduate
and then we help them find full time jobs, and
we have an upward of ninety percent job placement rate,
(11:43):
and so we're really excited also that this will give
us a chance to work with students who are too
far away from Brooklyn to get all the way down there,
and really to embed ourselves in the Inward neighborhood, which
has such a vibrant restaurant scene, which has so many
opportunities for employment for these individuals.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
So because we're kind of in this holidays, how can
people contribute to the new Kitchen at the Eliza.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
One of the ways that they can contribute that we
think is really fun is while you're filling your cart
with your stocking steppers and your gifts and your sales,
we have a registry up on Amazon for all the
kitchen tools that were going to need in this beautiful facility,
and I feel allow me, I'd love to share a
little story with that registry, because what I love about
it is we posted it and we immediately got some
beautiful equipment from supporters who've supported us from day one.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
But then I noticed a familiar name on the list.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
And a year ago, we had a student who lost
their housing because of the change in Homer shelter policy
in New York City. They had just started a new job,
and they reached out to us and said, what do
I do that with your permission, can we work with
you to solve this? And within twelve hours, we had
mobilized that community to find them stable housing to ensure
that they could keep their job. And a year later,
(12:52):
they saw that we had posted a registry and they
felt that they needed to send us something, so they
contributed to ensure that this new kitchen, this new opportunity
to serve new individuals will also have them be a
part of it. And so we welcome everybody to check
out our registry. And for me at least, this idea
of everybody has a little something to contribute and the
powerful community that comes behind that is just really inspiring,
(13:14):
especially this time of year.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
The registry is online. I'll say the website really briefly
at emma'storch dot org. Sort of a bigger picture question
to Jeremy at the moment, this is a huge success,
and I know you want to think about this success.
And in addition, for the one hundred and seventy four
affordable homes of the Eliza, there were eighty thousand applications.
Even if that's typical for an affordable housing opportunity in
(13:38):
New York City, it's kind of a crazy number, right.
This rezoning plan and Inwood aims to build twenty five
hundred units by the time it's completed. How does the
city and organizations like yours get its arms around providing
housing and opportunities like this in an equitable and let's
be clear, prompt way.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
You ask the tough question. I think that how we
get around this is by committing to the basic human
rights commitment that this is not just about housing. This
is about housing that you and I would want. Right,
We've continued to give people things that are less than
what we would want for ourselves, and that's got to change.
(14:23):
One of the reasons why we are excited about Emma's
torch is everything you heard about Carrie. You know, we
want that kind of enthusiasm. We want that kind of love,
that kind of commitment, that kind of energy available to
our people. We want the same thing in housing. We
want beautiful You come to the Eliza Nina, We've got
(14:45):
views of the Hudson River. We've got Peloton bikes in
the gym, we've got remote working spaces, we've got indoor
outdoor terrasers. We want to build good and the city
can add absolutely achieve that goal. It won't be easy,
but if we continue to only build in the places
(15:07):
where it's easy to build, we will always move some
of our families into second class citizenship because where you
live and where your children go to school. Right, that's
the game changer. So it begins with a commitment that
housing is a human right. It's not just a benefit anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
There is so much more at Emastorch dot org and
Children's Village dot org. You can take a look at
this beautiful building and in with the Eliza Doctor, Jeremia
Humben and Kerry Brody have been our guests. Thank you
for being on to Get Connected.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Thank you for having.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Us love it. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one oh six to seven lighte
fm dot com. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to get connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven Light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to get connected and thank you for listening. The
Children's Village, one of the great family supportive nonprofits in
our city, recognizes that housing alone isn't enough for those
experiencing housing insecurity. Through their initiative, The Eliza, they provide
not just shelter, but also essential services like financial literacy workshops,
mental health support, and employment training. A standout feature of
(00:36):
the Eliza, newly opened and Inwood, is its on site
teaching kitchen. In partnership with Emma's Torch, a nonprofit social
enterprise that empowers refugees, assilees, and survivors of human trafficking
through culinary education. We'll talk about the project they're working
on together with doctor Jeremy Cahumman, President and CEO of
the Children's Village, and Carrie Brody, founder and Executive director
(00:58):
of Emma's Torch. Jeremy and Carrie, thank you for being
on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Thank you, thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You can find out more about both organizations at Children's
Village dot org and Emma's Torch dot org. So Jeremy,
the Children's Village serves over twenty thousand children and families
each year. Last time we spoke, I think you were
serving a little bit fewer. I know the demand has
gone up because there's so many things that have changed
just in the last year. Let's talk about your scope
of services, or if you could please.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Our scope has not changed one hundred and seventy years
doing the same thing. Three populations serving young people touched
by family separation due to child welfare investigations often understood
as foster care, children and young adults touched by juvenile
and criminal justice, and then children trafficked within the United
(01:51):
States and in and out of the United States. Three populations.
One mission, and the mission is to get kids back
to family or to create family. We believe that kids
just do better when they're with family. Group homes, residential programs, hospitals, prisons,
(02:12):
those are not places for children. Family is the grounding
that children need.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Affordable housing is part of your portfolio. I know it
has evolved over the years. Can you talk about how
that has sort of grown to your philosophy of how
supportive housing should empower residents as well.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Two things. One is as you reunite children with family,
you realize that they need to live somewhere, and so
that took us into this area of housing. But we
went in knowing that we didn't want to become an
affordable housing developer because ninety percent of the affordable housing
in the United States continues to be built in our
most racially segregated and burdened communities. And the the data
(03:01):
on second generation success is pretty clear. It's where you
live and where your children go to school. Right, that's
the game changing in the United States. Where you live
and where your children go to school. If we continue
to build housing where we are building it now, that's
not going to let us change the future for so many.
(03:23):
So we locked into this idea that if we could
build in desirable neighborhoods, if we could build integrated housing
that's beautiful places where you and I and our parents
could live, then life becomes better and the promise of
our democracies within reach to the second generation. That's where
(03:44):
we are, and that's what the Eliza, that's what Harlem Dowley,
that's what pig scale, that's what Dobbs Ferry is all
about building beautiful, affordable and desirable communities.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
I invite listeners to take a look at the Eliza online.
It is a beautiful building. It opened this past June
in in Wood, one hundred and seventy four deeply affordable
homes above the revitalized in Wood Library. So housing, of course,
is a natural there. And what else did you want
to include? We're going to get to M's torch, but
(04:13):
beyond the housing, right.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
We wanted to add the things that we I would
want for my own children and bring it into that community.
So we built a teaching kitchen. We have a performance space,
we have a sensory room, we have a stem lab.
We have common spaces where the community, not just our tenants,
can come in and participate. And that's what it takes. Right.
(04:38):
It's easy to talk about community, but we never become
community unless we're doing things together. Separation has been the
game in so many of so much of our history.
We want to bring people back together and Emma's torch
was a natural connection.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
How did that?
Speaker 4 (04:56):
You know?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
The idea of a teaching kitchen is fantastic. It might
not be top of mind, right A cooking school in
this affordable housing space. So how did the collaboration come
to play? If you want to talk about it first
and then we'll get to carry great.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Well, we have a couple of teaching kitchens and love
them because everyone likes good food, and we have a
lot of candidates for cooking and we were looking for
a partner and a friend of mine in DC said, hey,
have you heard of m Stage. I said, of course
I have, and he said, my wife volunteers for that group.
(05:29):
Please get to know them. So I went and did
some research connected with Carry and felt that we had
a couple other parties interested in this, but we felt
that Emma's Torch understood us because of the work that
we do in a city where migrants have been a
headline right for the last two years, in a city
(05:51):
where young people aging at a foster care and criminal
and juvenile justice is a headline, in a city where
human trafficking is still a react, we felt that Emma's
Torch was the right partner for this project.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
We're speaking with doctor Jeremy Cahumban, President and CEO of
Children's Village and Carrie Brody, founder and executive director of
Emma's Torch. Going to find out more about MMA's Torch
in just a moment, you can online at Emmastorch dot
org and Children's Village dot org. You're listening to get
connected on one oh six point seven Light FM. I'mina
del Rio Carrie Brody. For people who aren't familiar with
(06:27):
Emma's Torch. What do you do? You've started in twenty
sixteen with what goal?
Speaker 5 (06:32):
So we have one mission, and that is to empower refugees,
assylies and survivors of human trafficking through culinary education. We're
a social enterprise, so we have a cafe, we'll actually
two cafes now in New York and one in Washington,
d C. As well as a catering business that takes
us all over and a line of holiday gifts that
you can purchase nationwide.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
And the idea is that we start.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
With how do we ensure that the newest members of
our community have the skills and the tools that they
need to thrive. It begins with finding jobs, finding opportunities
to earn a living, to pursue their own goals with dignity.
And so that's what Amastruk has been doing for the
last eight years and we look forward to doing for
many more.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
So, who are the people who train in your kitchens?
We have assiles, but where do they come from? Where
are their backgrounds? How do they come to train in
your kitchens? How do you find each other?
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Our students come from all over the world.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
I think at last guests, we had about forty five
different countries represented in our alumni population. And they find
out about us through refugee resettlement agencies, homeless shelters, mental
health clinics, legal aid societies, and they are referred to
our program. And when they enter our doors, they leave
behind anything else that they don't want to bring in,
and we help them look towards the future of how
(07:46):
do you pursue your own goals? And so it's really
wonderful we walk into our kitchens. There's always if there's
five students, there's ten different languages, and it just creates
this incredible environment of shared learning.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
What has been your trajectory or what do you know
about the trajectory of your graduates over time? As word
has gone out from start to now.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
It's been fascinating to see the changing trajectory both of
us as a new organization that opened to twenty sixteen,
and of course for our students. We've worked with over
five hundred students at this point, and so watching their
stories unfold has been remarkable because in many ways, their
stories are the stories of all of us. We have
students who have gone on to be promoted year over
year and are now actually supervising other alumni from our program.
(08:28):
We have students who have bought home, students who have
begun their own businesses. Last year, I got a call
from a reporter asking for a quote about the hot
new restaurant they were profiling, and it was one of
our alumni. And for me, what's so special is that we,
of course we're mission driven, but data informs, so we're
tracking there earning six times more their first year out
than they did prior to the program. The return on
(08:50):
investment philanthropically is ten x when we get to ten years.
But more than that, it's about the human stories. It's
the person reaching out to me on Mother's Day telling
me how their children are doing because now they have
a job, now they have the choices that they can make,
and so it's really been special to see each of
these stories unfold.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Jeremy was talking about the community, about integrating into the community.
That's part of the reason for your success, right, the
partnerships that have expanded over time. You could not do
this work without the organizations like the Children's Village you've
been working with. Can you talk a little bit about
that and the reception.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Absolutely, when I founded the organization, I think it was
really important for me and for everybody that we worked
with to understand that we're grappling with some of the biggest,
most pernicious problems that faced humanity.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
There's one hundred million people this placed worldwide.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
And so it would take a lot of hubris to
say and we are going to solve this on our own.
And actually, what it turns out is that the network
of support, the community organizations, the church groups, the synagogue groups,
the moss groups, the incredible organizations like the Children's Village,
if we can harness those powers together, then we can
chip away at these deeply rooted problems. And so being
(09:59):
connect with Jeremy was just such a gift because we
were trying to find out how can we expand we
have a huge wait list.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
We know that this need is increasing and we want to.
Speaker 5 (10:08):
Keep up with it because we have a piece of
the puzzle that works. And so this partnership, and I
think more broadly, Jeremy and the Children's village perspective on
partnership is so critical to our work because you know,
they say it takes a village, and it truly does.
And what I always like to add to that is
and the village does better when it does those things together.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
And so I'm very grateful for all of these partnerships.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So what is the vision for the teaching kitchen at
the Eliza, What will it teach people? And by the way,
who is doing the training?
Speaker 5 (10:37):
So our vision at this beautiful kitchen that the second
that Jeremy sent me those pictures I was so excited,
is very similar to what we're doing in Brooklyn. It's
an eleven week fully paid and this is really critical.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
We pay our students whether.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
They are in an English class, going on a job
interview somewhere else, learning fundamental culinary skills, or working in
our social enterprises. So they're earning full time wages for
the entirety of the program. They're with us for eleven weeks.
The first part of the program they're going to be
learning fundamental culinary skills as well as what we call employability,
equity and empowerment training. And what a better setting to
(11:11):
do it in than in the Eliza where that is
I mean in as much as there is a beautiful
facility that is ingrained in the very foundation of it.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
And then in the second part.
Speaker 5 (11:21):
The Eliza where we are house in the Eliza is
going to be focusing on catering, So they'll be executing
the weddings, the un secretary dinners that we've been doing,
all of those pieces that are off site. They will
be creating the food and serving it. And then at
the end of that program at eleven weeks, they graduate
and then we help them find full time jobs, and
we have an upward of ninety percent job placement rate,
(11:43):
and so we're really excited also that this will give
us a chance to work with students who are too
far away from Brooklyn to get all the way down there,
and really to embed ourselves in the Inward neighborhood, which
has such a vibrant restaurant scene, which has so many
opportunities for employment for these individuals.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
So because we're kind of in this holidays, how can
people contribute to the new Kitchen at the Eliza.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
One of the ways that they can contribute that we
think is really fun is while you're filling your cart
with your stocking steppers and your gifts and your sales,
we have a registry up on Amazon for all the
kitchen tools that were going to need in this beautiful facility,
and I feel allow me, I'd love to share a
little story with that registry, because what I love about
it is we posted it and we immediately got some
beautiful equipment from supporters who've supported us from day one.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
But then I noticed a familiar name on the list.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
And a year ago, we had a student who lost
their housing because of the change in Homer shelter policy
in New York City. They had just started a new job,
and they reached out to us and said, what do
I do that with your permission, can we work with
you to solve this? And within twelve hours, we had
mobilized that community to find them stable housing to ensure
that they could keep their job. And a year later,
(12:52):
they saw that we had posted a registry and they
felt that they needed to send us something, so they
contributed to ensure that this new kitchen, this new opportunity
to serve new individuals will also have them be a
part of it. And so we welcome everybody to check
out our registry. And for me at least, this idea
of everybody has a little something to contribute and the
powerful community that comes behind that is just really inspiring,
(13:14):
especially this time of year.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
The registry is online. I'll say the website really briefly
at emma'storch dot org. Sort of a bigger picture question
to Jeremy at the moment, this is a huge success,
and I know you want to think about this success.
And in addition, for the one hundred and seventy four
affordable homes of the Eliza, there were eighty thousand applications.
Even if that's typical for an affordable housing opportunity in
(13:38):
New York City, it's kind of a crazy number, right.
This rezoning plan and Inwood aims to build twenty five
hundred units by the time it's completed. How does the
city and organizations like yours get its arms around providing
housing and opportunities like this in an equitable and let's
be clear, prompt way.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
You ask the tough question. I think that how we
get around this is by committing to the basic human
rights commitment that this is not just about housing. This
is about housing that you and I would want. Right,
We've continued to give people things that are less than
what we would want for ourselves, and that's got to change.
(14:23):
One of the reasons why we are excited about Emma's
torch is everything you heard about Carrie. You know, we
want that kind of enthusiasm. We want that kind of love,
that kind of commitment, that kind of energy available to
our people. We want the same thing in housing. We
want beautiful You come to the Eliza Nina, We've got
(14:45):
views of the Hudson River. We've got Peloton bikes in
the gym, we've got remote working spaces, we've got indoor
outdoor terrasers. We want to build good and the city
can add absolutely achieve that goal. It won't be easy,
but if we continue to only build in the places
(15:07):
where it's easy to build, we will always move some
of our families into second class citizenship because where you
live and where your children go to school. Right, that's
the game changer. So it begins with a commitment that
housing is a human right. It's not just a benefit anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
There is so much more at Emastorch dot org and
Children's Village dot org. You can take a look at
this beautiful building and in with the Eliza Doctor, Jeremia
Humben and Kerry Brody have been our guests. Thank you
for being on to Get Connected.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Thank you for having.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Us love it. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one oh six to seven lighte
fm dot com. Thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!