On March 19, 2020, the Work First Fellows in New York City started their work day a little differently…from home. Eventually, all the 2019-2020 Work First Fellows were working remotely as the COVID-19 pandemic began to sweep over the country. At first, we at Work First thought we would be back in the office in a few months – after all, we still had the annual Policy Trip to Washington DC to organize, not to mention the Research Symposium to celebrate the end of the fellowship! Of course, those few months turned into many more, and we found ourselves having to say goodbye to our 2019-2020 Fellows over computer screens.
What many of our interactions looked like by the end of the fellowship… on screens!
It was an unconventional end to the fellowship, but one that brought many lessons and insights. In their last few months, our 2019-2020 Fellows were on the frontlines as we re-imagined how to provide workforce development services in a virtual world. Within just a few short weeks, Teaching Fellows in New York City were teaching job readiness classes as webinars over video, and Case Management Fellows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Memphis, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Milwaukee were checking in on low-income individuals and their families over phone and email. Even as we mobilized to transform our service model, we faced new and unprecedented challenges at every turn: what about those who don’t have access to internet, a personal computer, or even a smartphone? How can we promote client safety and well-being? How can we best support clients experiencing housing instability or food insecurity? Yet no matter the challenge, our Fellows rose to meet it.
Several of the 2019-2020 Fellows at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at a policy event back in January.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the 2019-2020 Work First Fellows, our services continued, receiving praise from our funders and government partners across the country. Unfortunately, March turned into July, and it was time to say goodbye to this group of Fellows. We couldn’t have handled this transition without them, and although we wish we could have given them a proper goodbye to celebrate their year of direct service, we are so grateful for the work they have done.
Perhaps more than any other Work First Fellowship cohort to date, the 2019-2020 group of fellows witnessed firsthand the vital nature of our work. With unemployment numbers at unprecedented levels and applications to public assistance programs in many cities increasing, we anticipate a high-need for job readiness and job placement services. They also gained insight into the instability and uncertainty faced by the people we serve, many of whom lack stable housing, healthcare, food, childcare, or other basic needs.
The Work First Fellowship was created to give young people an opportunity to understand how public policy and local governments affect low-income and marginalized communities, most of whom remain underserved by existing systems. These last few months demonstrated just how true that last part is: whether through the needless killing of Black lives, the risk faced by essential workers and low-income gig workers, or the willingness to put children and their teachers at risk by re-opening schools. Even remotely, Work First will continue to do its part to alleviate poverty and help families not just survive post-COVID-19, but thrive.
Thank you again to our 2019-2020 Fellows — read their bios here.
With one cohort ending, another one begins: the 2020-2021 Work First Fellowship began at the end of July, albeit a little differently than we expected it to! As of today, a majority of our services are still remote, so many of our new fellows had a virtual on-boarding. But even from a distance, we are so excited to see what this new cohort will bring.
P.S. We haven’t forgotten about the research papers! We are currently compiling the 2019-2020 Work First Research, and look forward to sharing it online soon.