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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Grace Wong, Youth Worker at Chinese American Planning Council (CPC) on Youth Employment Programs
6:51:46
ยท
132 sec
Grace Wong, a youth worker at the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC), testifies about the importance of funding for community-based organizations and the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). She shares her experience working with high school and college students, emphasizing how these programs positively impact low-income and immigrant families.
- Wong highlights the success of CPC's after-school program, with a 100% graduation rate for seniors.
- She shares a success story of a struggling student who benefited from SYEP, leading to improved academic performance and college aspirations.
- Wong urges the city to expand funding for community-based organizations like CPC and programs like SYEP to create more success stories.
Grace Wong
6:51:46
Thank you, chair Stevens.
6:51:50
Thank you for the love and support you're showing to our young people in this room.
6:51:53
It's very inspiring to witness.
6:51:56
My name is Grace.
6:51:57
I'm a youth worker at Chinese American Planning Council, known as CPC, the nation's largest Asian American social service organization.
6:52:06
I've been working directly with high schoolers and college students for the past seven years.
6:52:11
And just over last year, a thousand students participated in my after school program, and a % of our seniors graduated.
6:52:20
I have witnessed how funding for community based organizations like ours has been life changing for our young people, especially when they're coming from low income and immigrant families.
6:52:32
We urge the city to expand funding for programs like the summer youth employment program.
6:52:36
We heard from our young people how hard it is for them to get a job.
6:52:40
Because SYEP helps undocumented students otherwise could not work.
6:52:45
SYEP helps struggling NYCHA family to keep food on their table.
6:52:49
And SYEP helps immigrant youth work at a small business where their colleagues speak their home language.
6:52:56
Two years ago, a student came to my office for help.
6:52:59
He gets into trouble in and out of school, and he was failing his classes.
6:53:04
But there was one thing he really wanted for himself, a paid job.
6:53:09
I started preparing him for the school based SYEP program, where a paid internship is guaranteed when a young person is successfully enrolled.
6:53:19
He started participating in our after school work readiness workshops.
6:53:24
He participated in CPC's advocacy events, and he traveled outside the city for the very first time on our overnight college trip.
6:53:33
Today, he has successfully worked for two summers, contributed to his household financially, and he's preparing for college, something he never imagined.
6:53:43
This is just one success story, and there can be so many of them with proper funding.
6:53:50
We urge the city to expand fundings for community based organizations like CPC and programs like SYEP.
6:53:57
Thank you so much for your time.
Althea V. Stevens
6:53:58
Thank you.