A Quebecer is one of the guardian angels in the new epicenter of the pandemic, in New York, by helping to prepare thousands of meals to feed vulnerable residents of underprivileged neighborhoods.
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Damien Alix-Souhabi has lived in New York for five years. The company he works for, Great Performances, is one of the city’s largest catering companies. It managed to serve 24,000 meals last week thanks to the financial contribution of the City. While the most disadvantaged seniors are benefiting from the service for now, the company plans to provide meals to first responders as well.
Courtesy photo
Damien Alix-Souhabi has lived in New York for five years.
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For the moment, it is the retirement homes of Manhattan that are served, which are mainly social housing. “Many of these elderly people are alone and have no one to help them”, specifies the Quebecer. The latter adds that one of them even confessed not having eaten for four days when they went to bring him a meal.
“As soon as we lost the majority of our events, our boss quickly tried to find a way to help,” explains Damien Alix-Souhabi. When the latter saw the crisis arrive, he chose to be transferred to the offices. He is now in charge of training the delivery teams to serve as many meals as possible.
In addition, the City has also set up more than 400 facilities where New Yorkers can go on weekdays to receive up to three free meals a day.
Underprivileged neighborhoods much more affected
Of New York City’s 56,289 cases, 18,823 of them are from Queens County, the hardest hit by the pandemic. New York City Public Health Care CEO Mitchell Katz explains these numbers in part by the presence of poverty in the area. “In Queens, several families live together in very small and close together apartments, which makes it easier to transmit the virus,” he says.
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Data released by New York City also shows that the pandemic is spreading more in inner city neighborhoods. Many more residents have tested positive for the virus in the neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona in Queens than in the wealthier areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
As of Saturday, the coronavirus had claimed 3,565 lives in New York state, which accounts for just over 40% of cases in the United States. In New York City are 20% of the nation’s cases and the death toll has climbed to 1867.
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