“Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” Barack Obama
There’s a lot about his job that David Bobbit loves, but three things stand out. “I love the work itself, I love cleaning,” he said. “I love how everyone at Fedcap and at work always treats you with respect and fairness, and I love the staff.”
David, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, has come a long way. Prior to joining Fedcap a little over 10 years ago, he was at a low point in his life. He had experienced personal tragedies and became depressed. Working for minimum wage at a small cleaning company, David worried about his future direction and how he would be able to support his daughter. His counselor from Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) suggested that he apply for a job at Fedcap, saying it could provide him with the sense of purpose and independence he was seeking. David knew a little about Fedcap. His brother worked there—and still does.
David always enjoyed cleaning—he had “a thing for it”, he said. He loved making people happy by doing a good job. He also saw that working for Fedcap would help him provide for his daughter and become more independent. He applied for a job as a custodian and was hired.
David met David nine years ago, well before David’s move to 130 Livingston Street NYC MTA Headquarters 130 Livingston Street Plaza. He pegged David as a future leader because David always took the initiative in going above and beyond the work at hand, always took ownership of the job and never stopped trying to grow and improve. “If he had a question he always called me and asked for advice,” David said. “He always wanted to do more than what was required.”
David was an excellent worker from the get-go—upbeat, friendly and hardworking—and over time showed remarkable personal and professional growth. His skill in all facets of cleaning were evident early on and he perfected them over time. He greatly improved his social and communication skills, and became much more outgoing. Now he is a favorite among clients and staff alike.
“My staff and I consider David to be family at the Simlab,” said Anthony James, Senior Director, Operations Training, Train Simulator Lab. “His diligence and unwavering attention to detail leave us assured and pleased, knowing he will get the job done without fail.”
Adds Heather Gupton, Manager, Department of Security, NYC MTA: “Mr. Bobbit is gracious and performs his duties with a smile. He is also very personal. He greets each employee and always takes a few minutes out of his schedule to ask how everyone is doing.”
David consistently developed close working relationships with his co-workers and in the process mastered an entirely new skill–training new employees. Taking on this new responsibility over and above his job description, David has trained close to 100 new workers, teaching them best practices for buffing, stripping and waxing, how to clean restrooms, and how to work around
people and save cleaning the busiest areas for last.
As a committed and expert trainer, David learned over time that everyone has areas in which they are skilled as well as areas where they need to improve. Someone may be great at cleaning corners, for example, but need improvement in buffing. David believes that every moment on the job offers a new opportunity for learning. He tells new employees to always work smart, to do the right thing even when no one is looking, to be effective in time management and to be professional at all times.
“David is very reliable and very resourceful,” said John Savelli, Facility Manager at NYC MTA Headquarters 130 Livingston Street Plaza. ”He looks forward to coming into work and puts 110 percent into his job. “He is very outgoing and kind, and always willing to help out. It’s a real pleasure to work with him.”
Adds Andy Garcia, Supervisor for Fedcap at 130 Livingston Plaza: “David always has a positive attitude, is always neat and clean and is always willing to do whatever you ask of him. He’s a smart guy, very punctual, and his work quality is consistently excellent.”
David is always open to suggestions from his supervisors. He is always ready to work with them and to learn a different technique. He has always had good relationships with customers—as a result, whenever an issue comes up they communicate easily about it and resolve it in short order. How has David become such a good team leader and trainer, and a shining example of excellence and commitment on the job?
“I always try to be honest with people and encourage them to get the job right,” he said. “I tell them never to cut corners, to leave no stone unturned and to work hard but work smart.”
The Women’s Project (TWP) is a community whose collective work serves as an alternative to pre-trial detention and incarceration. Born out of conversations seeking ways to permanently decrease the number of women detained in city jails and state prisons, it is part of a larger partnership between Wildcat/The Fedcap Group, public defenders, and district attorney offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. A community of shared experience and expertise, TWP aims to create a space that “stops the noise that often prevents women from finding their individual power, the power that will help them live the lives they want and make their dreams real, no matter what challenges await,” said Valentina Morales, Senior Director of Justice Initiatives and Director of TWP. Women are generally referred to TWP while they are detained. Working together with staff, community members focus on overall wellness, accessing services and resources related to health, healing and recovery, as well as furthering economic stability and building strong community support. A core tenet of TWP is building positive communications among community members, who learn together and grow together. “Each of us anchors our steps toward sustained growth in strong community. Arrest and detention bring a cadre of consequences that make daily life increasingly difficult and can complicate our ability to fully participate in our defense and the process. It makes a real difference to have a community of support. Women who join our community make a commitment to take the best care of themselves so we, in turn, can take care of one another,” Valentina said. Caring for oneself in the TWP community includes individual work that supports personal growth, collective educational and therapeutic work in groups, as well as a range of community-building activities. All TWP self-care workshops are structured around the 8 interrelated dimensions of wellness. To that end, the monthly TWP calendar is a busy one that features group work every day of the week. The monthly calendar consists of educational workshops on wellness practices related to physical, emotional and spiritual health; weekly CBT groups, adapted for cultural relevance; processing through art, writing and poetry; mindfulness; somatic interventions for addressing trauma’s impact on the body; healthy eating; exercise breaks; and, more. There is a popular book club hosted by the New York Public Library, where women across the community, including incarcerated women, explore the writings women- identifying authors. There is also a self-advocacy series which focuses on developing effective advocacy skills and learning the rules of the specific systems which often impact community members. Additional community-building events such as open mics, collective community service projects, community vision-boarding, value quilting and civic engagement discussions, round out the monthly schedule. The TWP community puts out a monthly newsletter to keep all members of the community connected. It has been described as a lifeline by incarcerated community members and often includes poetry, member profiles, workshop recaps, and recognition of important events such as Women’s History Month. The community also publishes a quarterly zine, The Sassy Source, featuring artwork and creative writing by community members. “For many of our community members, assumptions have been made about what they can and cannot do. They are not necessarily asked to contribute their knowledge, wisdom and talents to communal space,” Valentina said. “At The Women’s Project, we don’t wait to be asked or included. We are creating these things for ourselves, and, in so doing, creating an opportunity for women to find, articulate and grow those things they love about themselves. In our space, the individual power, wisdom and beauty of our members shine through.” An ongoing focus of the TWP community is the exploration of individual visions and goals, and defining a collective vision. Together, TWP members have created community guidelines and agreements, as well as a community values quilt and community vision board. Staff are part of the TWP community. There are quarterly meetings led by participants, and constant feedback to ensure that all members can contribute to the collective voice of the community. Throughout the pandemic, TWP meetings have migrated to Zoom, and have proven to be highly successful; members are meeting more frequently than before the pandemic. All women are provided with cell phones. The meetings have had significant participation, but in such a close- knit, connected community, they are no substitute for meeting in-person. “It has not been easy, and the longer it goes on the harder it is,” Valentina said. Crucially, TWP’s staff understand and appreciate how trauma manifests in the lives of women. Staff members engage in consistent training and reflection, analyzing their own positionality to best support women in the community. Staff bring themselves to the work but are careful not to get in the way. This assists in being responsive to women’s individual needs, and carving the space for community members to individually define success. “We are women of purpose who believe in the power of possible. Our members are phenomenal women who are very rarely described that way. Too often, they are defined by negative elements of their experiences or compromising choices they may have made. The Women’s Project provides a space where we can focus on individual growth and celebrate incredible resilience. It is one where gifts and talents can thrive.”
