Public Employee Press: PEP Talk
Never Quit award winner “a father to many”
Guy Bryant is a community coordinator at New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services where he helps monitor young people who have been discharged from foster care. A member of SSEU Local 371, he has been at his job for 42 years.
But Bryant goes above and beyond his job duties. For 13 years, he has fostered more than 60 children and youth at his home, becoming the father figure many of them never had, instilling in them a sense of confidence in their abilities and potential, and never giving up.
“I tell my kids all the time that your success is my reward. I want them to have what everybody else in America has,” Bryant said. “I don’t think what I do is special. I think it’s something that has to be done. This is the path that was chosen for me and I just walked down it.
“The most important thing I can give to these kids is understanding and compassion,” he said. “These are kids who have been raised by so many different people and have been in so many foster homes. If I can understand where they are coming from and if I can help them move forward, then nothing else really matters.”
The most important thing I can give to these kids is understanding and compassion. These are kids who have been raised by so many different people and have been in so many foster homes.”
— Guy Bryant
For his extraordinary service to his community, Bryant is a winner of AFSCME’s Never Quit Service Award, given to members who have performed outstanding work for the people in their communities that they serve. Public service workers go out every day, not just for the salary, but because providing necessary services is a calling.
Oftentimes, these public workers don’t get recognized for the work they do. Several years ago, AFSCME created the award to honor our hard-working members like Guy Bryant who demonstrate commitment and dedication, and who lead by example, in the communities they serve.
“I have known Guy Bryant for more than 30 years. He has always been dedicated to helping young people,” said SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells. “His work in group homes is exceptional, filled with commitment and compassion. He represents the best of us.”
To watch Guy Bryant’s inspirational story, go to bit.ly/2GP2X5I
