BronxWorks is proud of our staff who are dedicated to not only providing critical services to our clients and the communities of the Bronx, but also to helping ensure that our diverse identities and backgrounds are represented throughout the organization. In talking to staff, we are always fascinated by their stories, how they each found their way to BronxWorks, and how so many of them find a kindred purpose in the mission of BronxWorks. Dylan’s story exemplifies why these aspects of our staff are so important.
Dylan grew up in Rhode Island. He attended Hofstra University, earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Global Studies, and Italian. After graduating in 2015, Dylan joined AmeriCorps for a year. In 2016, Dylan joined the Peace Corps and spent the following two years teaching English in Morocco. He joined BronxWorks in February 2020 as a Housing Coordinator for the Emergency Department Outreach Team (EDOT) at Lincoln Hospital. The program stationed BronxWorks staff within the emergency departments of partner hospitals to engage homeless individuals and patients in need of housing resources.
In March 2020 after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lincoln Hospital temporarily suspended the EDOT program, restricting access to the hospital for all non-essential programs and services. Dylan and the other team members moved to the Pyramid Safe Haven as stand-in Case Managers for three months until Lincoln Hospital allowed the EDOT program to resume. As one of the original team members, Dylan was pivotal in helping hospital staff and patients better understand the resources that the EDOT program and BronxWorks could provide to the homeless population at Lincoln Hospital.
It was a lot of outreach, interjecting myself into conversations, explaining the program to staff, and eventually people would start to remember, oh yeah there’s that guy from BronxWorks to help with the homeless patients.”
In June 2021, Dylan moved into a different role as the Program Developer for the BronxWorks Supportive Housing and Care Coordination Department. He also enrolled at Hunter College for his Master’s Degree in Social Work. In June 2022 Dylan started his social work internship as a Case Manager at the BronxWorks Park Haven Supportive Housing Program. He continues to work as a Program Developer for the Department, and is expecting to graduate with his MSW in August.
Since joining BronxWorks, Dylan has been a member of the agency-wide LGBTQ+ Committee, helping the staff-led group create a space within the organization for staff to safely discuss LGBTQ+ issues and encourage each other to share experiences.
It’s a way to feel more connected to my colleagues who share a part of my identity. BronxWorks is such a large organization, it can feel sometimes that stuff can get lost in the shuffle, but with the Committee, we know there is a mechanism in place to make sure that the LGBTQ community is represented.”
At the moment, Dylan’s schedule is packed between his job, his social work internship, and working toward completing his MSW. He’s looking forward to having time once he graduates to explore new hobbies. He loves to play volleyball recreationally, and is always trying to learn a new language. Dylan shared that he can speak some degree of Arabic, Italian, Spanish, French, German, and Swedish.
BronxWorks is proud of our staff who are dedicated to not only providing critical services to our clients and the communities of the Bronx, but also to helping ensure that our diverse identities and backgrounds are represented throughout the organization. In talking to staff, we are always fascinated by their stories, how they each found their way to BronxWorks, and how so many of them find a kindred purpose in the mission of BronxWorks. Dylan’s story exemplifies why these aspects of our staff are so important.
Dylan grew up in Rhode Island. He attended Hofstra University, earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Global Studies, and Italian. After graduating in 2015, Dylan joined AmeriCorps for a year. In 2016, Dylan joined the Peace Corps and spent the following two years teaching English in Morocco. He joined BronxWorks in February 2020 as a Housing Coordinator for the Emergency Department Outreach Team (EDOT) at Lincoln Hospital. The program stationed BronxWorks staff within the emergency departments of partner hospitals to engage homeless individuals and patients in need of housing resources.
In March 2020 after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lincoln Hospital temporarily suspended the EDOT program, restricting access to the hospital for all non-essential programs and services. Dylan and the other team members moved to the Pyramid Safe Haven as stand-in Case Managers for three months until Lincoln Hospital allowed the EDOT program to resume. As one of the original team members, Dylan was pivotal in helping hospital staff and patients better understand the resources that the EDOT program and BronxWorks could provide to the homeless population at Lincoln Hospital.
It was a lot of outreach, interjecting myself into conversations, explaining the program to staff, and eventually people would start to remember, oh yeah there’s that guy from BronxWorks to help with the homeless patients.”
In June 2021, Dylan moved into a different role as the Program Developer for the BronxWorks Supportive Housing and Care Coordination Department. He also enrolled at Hunter College for his Master’s Degree in Social Work. In June 2022 Dylan started his social work internship as a Case Manager at the BronxWorks Park Haven Supportive Housing Program. He continues to work as a Program Developer for the Department, and is expecting to graduate with his MSW in August.
Since joining BronxWorks, Dylan has been a member of the agency-wide LGBTQ+ Committee, helping the staff-led group create a space within the organization for staff to safely discuss LGBTQ+ issues and encourage each other to share experiences.
It’s a way to feel more connected to my colleagues who share a part of my identity. BronxWorks is such a large organization, it can feel sometimes that stuff can get lost in the shuffle, but with the Committee, we know there is a mechanism in place to make sure that the LGBTQ community is represented.”
At the moment, Dylan’s schedule is packed between his job, his social work internship, and working toward completing his MSW. He’s looking forward to having time once he graduates to explore new hobbies. He loves to play volleyball recreationally, and is always trying to learn a new language. Dylan shared that he can speak some degree of Arabic, Italian, Spanish, French, German, and Swedish.
