PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jorge Perez, Community Organizer from Mixteca
3:58:17
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174 sec
Jorge Perez, a community organizer from Mixteca, testified about the challenges faced by unaccompanied immigrant youth in New York City, particularly those without family support. He emphasized the difficult balance these young people face between education and work, and the inadequacy of current support systems.
- Highlighted the need for comprehensive mental health services and enhanced access to legal resources for unaccompanied migrant youth
- Stressed the importance of developing income-earning opportunities and mentorship programs for these youth
- Called for better connections between city agencies and community-based organizations to provide more resources and support for unaccompanied migrants
Jorge Perez
3:58:17
Hello.
3:58:18
Thank you, members of City Council.
3:58:21
Alex Haviland, Steven, thank you for having us here.
3:58:24
My name is Jorge Perez, and I'm the community organizer formisteka, a community based institution.
3:58:29
The house proudly saved the Spanish speaking community of Sunset Park for more than 20 years, or the years we have witnessed the struggles and the resilience of many of my friends.
3:58:38
Especially young migrants who have Orion on a company.
3:58:41
Cloudia is part of a promoturas program, which empowers community members to engage in leadership opportunities in their communities of some specifically sunset part.
3:58:50
The testimony that Cloudia highlights highlights many of the frustrations the parents of unaccompanied migrants face in the city.
3:58:58
However, as you heard today, there's another perspective of those migrants that do not have the privilege of having someone that receives them.
3:59:04
In our daily work language, we young people from Countries like Venezuela, Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras, and many more.
3:59:12
You do have been have made a difficult decision to live their homes in search for a better life.
3:59:18
And one of the most present issues that we have Notice among this youth is the Impossible Balancing Act of both going to school and also having to work.
3:59:29
The reality is that many of them are not only supporting themselves, but also contributing to their families back home And in many cases, they're responsible for paying rent and buying food here in the United States.
3:59:40
This doer burden places an immense strain on their abilities to sit academically and socially.
3:59:46
With our safety net, this young this youth are forced to grow far too quickly, often sacrificing their education for immediate financial needs.
3:59:54
Unfortunately, the systems support systems are inaccurate, living them vulnerable and without the necessary resources for successful integration into our society.
4:00:03
A mistake.
4:00:03
I will share many of the frustrations that the committee heard today, and they will share earlier in in the panel.
4:00:10
Just as then, we recognized the importance of implemented comprehensive mental health services as well as enhancing access to legal resources.
4:00:18
However, we want to emphasize the importance of developing economic income earning opportunities as well as facilitating mentorship programs.
4:00:26
We have a lot of community members that complain that they're not eligible for the student employment at for the student youth employment program, something that is widely shared in their in the DOE, in the Department of Education.
4:00:39
Similar to organizations like Africa, a mistake that has taken the burden of supporting these young migrants, and creating programming that helps them adjust to the country.
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And although we recognize the efforts of agencies such as Moiab, we still see many gaps that leave these youth in difficult situations.
4:00:56
We hope that as this community looks into the resources available for an incompetent migrants that that we can create better connections between agencies and CEOs to become stronger and provide more resources to that community.
4:01:09
Thank you for your time and consideration.