My 1st Internship is at Aquila Inc is a not-for-profit institution governed by a Board of Directors in NYC which provides transitional housing for Homeless Families since 2000. Families are referred through the EAU (Emergency Assistant Unit) and there are no fees charged to the participants. There are educational and counseling services for families dealing with substance abuse.
With the incline in gentrification in some of the more densely populated neighborhoods in New York the issue of homelessness is growing rapidly daily. Politics also plays a major roll in displacing families and cutting or limiting resources to people whom really have it hard. Mayor Bill deBlassio has be working hard on creating affordable opportunities but he has been met with a lot of opposition.
What is great about this internship is that I get to see first hand that shelter is not the only issue, but also, that there are people who care and trying to fix this broken system. Ultimately, Aquila Inc gives needy families the ability to establish an independent living situation.
