With Help from NYCHA, Parkside Houses Resident Starts and Advances Public Service Career

Tytionna Peterkin was looking for a better job. Working as a caterer wasn’t what the 20-something Parkside Houses resident had in mind for herself when she attended college.  Unfortunately, financial pressures had forced her to cut short her college career at Albright College in Pennsylvania and the Borough of Manhattan Community College. But her previous experience working for Green City Force, a sustainability nonprofit that serves NYCHA communities; college internship at the NYC Department of Probation; and unstoppable personality caught the attention of NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability (REES) Project Manager Matthew Walker, whose team’s mission is to help residents raise their income through employment and career advancement. 

“When I was reviewing Ms. Peterkin’s resume for the community health worker position,” Mr. Walker said, “I was looking for prior experience related to building community, being able to comfortably speak with residents, and being able to explain complex topics to individuals in an understandable way. Based off of that, I felt confident that she would be a good fit.”  

Mr. Walker set up an interview for Ms. Peterkin for a position as a community health worker – a grant-funded position with community-based organizations partnering with the NYC Health Department and the Authority that prioritizes NYCHA resident hiring and invests community health resources into NYCHA communities.

Ms. Peterkin didn’t get the job, but Mr. Walker informed her that he would keep his eye out for other opportunities. Then, in March 2022, NYCHA’s Bronx Family Partnerships Office informed him it was looking for a health care consultant. 

“I immediately thought of Ms. Peterkin,” Mr. Walker said. She got the job working for the Elderly Safe-At-Home Program (ESAH), which provides on-site social services to older residents. She provided them referrals to wellness activities and intervention services; help with their benefits; and information on safety, nutrition, and home care programs. Her coworkers were “very friendly, welcoming, and helped me when I needed it,” Ms. Peterkin recalled. She anticipated the new skills acquired on the job would advance her professionally – she just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.   

By August, Ms. Peterkin had a new job at NYCHA in a different department: working in Resident Outreach Services, informing residents about the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program; the Public Housing Preservation Trust, which will raise billions of dollars to fully renovate an initial 25,000 NYCHA apartments; and the Housing Choice Voucher program, or Section 8, which helps eligible low- and moderate-income families rent housing in the private market.   

“Moving forward, I see Ms. Peterkin continuing to harness her interpersonal skills to better assist NYCHA residents and the community at large,” Mr. Walker said.   

Helping others with her interpersonal skills provides the most job satisfaction for Ms. Peterkin. “The most rewarding part of this job is connecting with the residents,” she said, “and hearing their stories and trying to be empathetic in a way that will be helpful. By hearing them out and recording what they need, and then giving those notes to my managers, we can get them the help they need.”   

Ms. Peterkin’s goal is to use her interpersonal skills to have her own business one day. “I’d like to have my own event spaces, where people could come and celebrate birthdays and weddings and hold different showcases in the arts such as open mics, fashion shows, and more,” she said.