He got back to work — and back on his feet Thanks to a Robin Hood partner, this Brooklyn dad got the job he needed.
When COVID-19 struck and unemployment skyrocketed, the employment coordinators at Henry Street Settlement, a Robin Hood- funded community organization, sprang into action to place clients into new jobs. Over the course of the pandemic’s peak, they helped 77 workers find new employment.
For Tshering’s family, loss of income was a near-disaster. “I was worried,” Tshering said. His wife’s babysitting job came to an end when the family she cared for left town. Then the couple both contracted the virus, leaving Tshering panicked. “There was nobody here to look after us,” he said. Both have recovered, though they were hospitalized briefly. Tshering considered construction work, taking a 10-hour online certification course. But like many English learners, he found the training difficult to understand. “Then I went to Henry Street again,” he said. “I sent an email saying ‘Can you please help me? I’m in very bad condition.’” This time he met employment coordinator Jayne Sugg, who implored him not to give up.
Phurbu Tshering is one of them.
Tshering arrived in the U.S. in January 2019. A Tibetan from New Delhi, he joined his wife and two children after a decade apart. A friend connected Tshering to Henry Street, where he enrolled in ESOL and met with the employment coordinators. Tshering’s work permit took months to arrive; while waiting for it, he sold photo frames in Times Square. Then came the pandemic. Tourists disappeared practically overnight, and Tshering joined tens of thousands of newly jobless New Yorkers. By April, unemployment claims in New York City had increased 2,637% over the previous year. Jobs become a top priority for Robin Hood and the nonprofits we fund — from placement in commercial truck driving jobs through organizations like Brooklyn Workforce Innovations or work for the formerly incarcerated through the Center for Employment Opportunities.
“She was so kind,” Tshering said.
Sugg sent Tshering on interviews and the third, at maintenance company We Clean, was the charm. In early July, with his work permit finally in hand, Tshering was assigned to the Downtown Brooklyn Holiday Inn. “It’s very good,” he says, “and suitable work for me because I did this kind of work in India for a long time.” Thanks to Robin Hood donors’ support of these crucial community organizations, Tshering, like so many other New Yorkers, is back on his feet.
THANKS TO ROBIN HOOD DONORS’ SUPPORT OF THESE CRUCIAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS , TSHERING, LIKE SO MANY OTHER NEW YORKERS , IS BACK ON HIS FEET.
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