1. Tell us a little about yourself: who you are, what you do, and what brought you to Alliance?
I am from Jamaica. I have been at Alliance for over 20 years and am currently the Director of Benefits Navigation and Linkage to Care. (Which consists of different regional and national programs that have different enrollment qualifications).
I have worked in our care management program in partnership with Mount Sinai, supervising teams that go out in the field, and recently overseeing our Food and Nutrition Services program.
2. Is there an achievement or contribution to this program you are particularly proud of?
Absolutely. This is our fourth year providing linkage to insurance, and we’ve grown enrollment well above what we were contracted by the city and other agencies. That’s great for the agency, but even better for the people who’re talking to: by getting bigger enrollments for both health insurance programs, we’re helping people with their health and finances proactively.
We do referrals and linkage to other services for about 350 participants a month.
3. What do you think is behind the growth?
We have a great team of Luis, Miguelina, Avis, and Carla, plus Yelmy, our Peer on the team, working on our team for all programs. Because of how we treat the participants that we work with, they refer friends and acquaintances to us. I’ll give you an example: if a person is eligible for insurance through both the marketplace and HASA, we help them understand what each does and doesn’t do. In this case, I encourage them to select the benefits that work for them and help connect them to other benefits like food stamps.
4. How has linkage to health insurance changed during the pandemic?
Before the pandemic, we were out in the community and at hospitals in the beginning, canvassing, and talking to people. But COVID-19 offered a lot of new opportunities for people to access free healthcare.
Before the pandemic, the marketplace rules would only allow us to enroll participants in person. That changed during the pandemic and that allowed us to enroll people over the phone, which has been huge!
Immigrant communities in particular didn’t really know about all the COVID-19 specific and general insurance availability so that’s who we’ve really been trying hardest to reach, and link to care.
5. You also took on the responsibility of running our Food and Nutrition Services. What has that been like?
With one of our FNS team members being on maternity leave, I was offered the chance to take on the role. FNS is a crucial service and some people who come for food might not know all the other free services we can help them with.
I cook at home and feel like whatever you serve the people who come to us should be something you would be happy to eat, too. We should eat the food we’re serving to them, not see their needs as inferior to ours. If a participant is diabetic and notices a dish has too much salt, I will call the provider and make sure they know in the future to make a low sodium alternative.
I have a good sense of our participants’ basic needs, with my work in linkage. Because I know behavior, and I studied case management in social work school, I’ll read the room and when people seem unfulfilled, or need special services, I pick up on that, and try to connect with them.
6. How did you available for this role plus FNS?
I think I’m a good self-manager, so I carve out time to. I make a list and prioritize building my days efficiently.
7. If you could do anything in addition to what you are doing now, what would it be?
I would still want to work. A more flexible schedule, but I would still be doing social work. I would travel and enjoy myself. And I would give Alliance some money, haha, because I’ve been here so long, and I’ve got so much out of my work here. When I came here to New York, I had zero experience in case management. I was interviewed here for client services and prevention team roles. Ms. Brenda gave me a chance to learn on the job even before I had my degrees and encouraged me while I was getting my Bachelor of Social Work. Like a lot of Alliance people, I started out as an intake worker and now I'm a director.
8. Is there anything else I’ve forgotten to ask about your work, or who you are as a person outside of work, that you’d like to share?
I’m a people person: I like talking to people. I enjoy conversations. I don’t make assumptions or judgments about people because I’ve worked with so many people in different situations. I don’t judge by appearances. I wait to get information from talking to people. If you make assumptions that are too positive, that can be hurtful just like making assumptions that are too negative.
In terms of hobbies, I like to dance. I also read and watch news about a lot of political issues. I still remember a state of the union speech that President Obama gave that I wrote a paper on for school. My family and friends ask me to explain certain political issues in the news, but I don’t judge anyone because of their political views.