Community Resources
Local resources and opportunities curated by the Connected Chef team
Job Training Opportunities
Hot Bread Kitchen’s mission is to create economic opportunity for women and gender-expansive people, immigrants, and people of color through job skills training, food entrepreneurship programs, and an ecosystem of support in New York City.
Andromeda Community Initiative
ACI is A Workforce Development Program for NY’s Construction Industry. Bridging the gap in the construction field between companies in need of workers and individuals seeking quality, family-sustaining employment.
Their next free 8-Week Green Construction Training runs July 7th - August 2th, 2025.
To learn more, contact:
Leighanna Gross, Program Director
E: Leighanna.Gross@andromedainitiative.org
T: 929-233-7699
Free Health Care for Restaurant Workers
The Restaurant Worker Referral Program began around 2009 with the mission of providing free access to initial MD healthcare for uninsured workers in New York City’s restaurant and service industry. RWRP is an opportunity (at the very least) to see a medical doctor for evaluation and treatment. At no charge to the worker. And, if needed, a professional referral for additional care is provided. RWRP is a not-for-profit healthcare cooperative of about 12 participating NYC restaurants allowing uninsured workers to see a doctor (David Ores, MD) at no charge to the worker. Restaurants pay about $5 per worker per month into a common RWRP fund to join the program. The workers are not charged for this service. And funds are only consumed when a patient is actually cared for. Otherwise, all funds stay in the RWRP fund.
Therapist: Jill Twohig, LMHC.
https://www.drdaveores.org/therapist-jill-twohig
An initial therapy consultation is now available for all RWRP member
workers in the same office as Dr. Ores. This does not include
additional visits at this point. But this does provide an initial evaluation
and a recommendation of how to proceed.
FLU 2025 - vaccine program: Attention RWRP workers and staff:
Get your FLU shot (highly recommended) at any pharmacy. RWRP
will reimburse you the $20 cost. Just text me your receipt. Walgreens,
Duane Reade. CVS and others all offer flu shots. Many places are
free. Protect your coworkers and your customers from flu virus
exposure.
Please contact David Ores. MD / RWRP to learn more:
Email: drdave.lesm@gmail.com
Text: 917-723-4206
Address: 189 East 2nd Street, NY, NY 10009
Immigration Tool Kit
NYIC (New York Immigration Coalition) Community Toolkit. This is their all-in-one resource guide for community members, partners, and allies. Please feel free to reference this and share this widely with your networks and email lists!
The Justice Committee (JC) is a grassroots organization dedicated to building a movement against police violence and systemic racism in New York City and empowering low-income Latinx and other people of color to address these issues.