Tatyana Faison-Jerry: A Story of an Essential Worker

Last month, Tatyana Faison-Jerry lost her job at a boutique hotel in Queens because of the COVID-19 crisis. She had been working there for 7 months since Urban Upbound referred her to the job opportunity in late 2019.

A lot of our clients have been laid-off, and Urban Upbound’s workforce development team is working harder than ever during the pandemic. While working remotely, the team has to be creative in looking for opportunities for our clients. After a couple of weeks of being unemployed, she was hired to clean and sanitize NYCHA buildings, including Linden and Cypress Houses.

Tatyana’s job is essential to keeping the residents safe, and she is grateful that she can still work. While this tremendously helps her financially, she exposes her life to danger every day by stepping outside of her home. Tatyana takes a bus to get to work, which increases the risk of her contracting the virus.

Many of our clients have to choose between working to provide for their families or staying at home to protect their health. You can help them stay safe by donating to our COVID-19 efforts. We help deliver hot meals, provide cash assistance, and personal protective equipment (PPE) so working clients like Tatyana can have the means to take extra measures to protect themselves when going to work.