Four Generations at Henry Street
By Chelsea Jupin
For Carlos Montañez, a senior at Brooklyn College, Henry Street Settlement is family.
Carlos is the fourth generation of his family—including his great grandmother, grandmother and parents—to be a part of the Henry Street community. The family’s affiliation with Henry Street began with his grandmother, Maria Silva who, when she moved to the neighborhood, worked for the Settlement in the home care department. She enrolled her children in Henry Street’s after-school programs. There they took sewing classes with beloved longtime staff member Ruth Taube. “I still have things they made!” Maria said.
The family stayed involved in Henry Street’s programs and, years later, Carlos enrolled in Camp Henry when he was ten years old. He would continue as a participant in the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) working in the kitchen at 265 Henry Street. He then joined the first class of the Settlement’s college prep program, Expanded Horizons; he called it an “awesome experience,” and credits the program’s college trips, application assistance and scholarship help with getting him in to Brooklyn College.
“Henry Street has opened so many doors for me,” he said. “Not just college assistance, but the staff being there to hang out with and talk to. They were always there, and I appreciate that.”
These days, Maria spends time at the Settlement’s Good Companions Senior Center as often as she can. “I go for the exercise, and now I do Zumba on Fridays!” she said. Maria also cares for her aging mother, who lives in the Vladeck Houses, and is grateful for the support services her mother receives from Henry Street’s Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC).
Carlos is building an already accomplished resume in media. He serves as Executive VP and Sports Director of the Brooklyn College radio station and is a promotions intern at CBS Radio. He is passionate about his chosen field, and says that he treats every day as an opportunity to learn how his colleagues have gotten where they are. (He is already a consummate professional, having brought his own audio recorder to the interview for this article — just in case it was needed.)
Carlos hopes that his future professional success in media will allow him to help the Settlement that brought so much to his entire family for so many years, noting that he wants to contribute to Henry Street Settlement college scholarships in the future. “They’ve been such a help to me,” he said. “Right now, the only thing I have to share is time.”
Despite his busy workload, he contributes exactly that. Following in his grandmother’s footsteps, Carlos is bringing children to Henry Street Settlement through his volunteer work in the after-school flag football program, where he serves as a referee, a position his father held for many years.
Carlos tells the kids in the league who aren’t familiar with other Henry Street programs that “it’s there, it’s for them to use, and there are so many possibilities that can come out of Henry Street.
“I try to promote Henry Street as much as possible, because it’s made such a big impact in my life,” he said. “I tell the kids, ‘I grew up in the same situation – I was in the same shoes as you. Even though you grew up in a bad neighborhood, you can be anything you want to be.’”
