Amber Drummond returns home sixteen hours after she leaves. Home is a women’s shelter on 148th Street in Jamaica, Queens.

Showing us her living space through her phone, Drummond says some residents have chipped in to make it feel more comfortable — like buying a shower curtain and a bath mat for the shared bathroom. But some purchases, like hand soap during a pandemic, are more essential.

What You Need To Know

  • Amber Drummond, a security guard at a Queens homeless shelter, is homeless herself

  • Drummond works for the Acacia Network, a non-profit social services provider that operates shelters for the city

  • Drummond says security guards who work at city-run shelters have better pay, affordable benefits and training — compared to guards who are contracted through operators like Acacia
  • Drummond says she could not afford to pay $200 a month for the coverage offered through her employer

“I put a bar of soap there that I got at Dollar Tree. So, you know, we can just have a bit of a cleaner because, you know, they’re not really going to provide those things,” said Drummond in her video tour of the shelter.

Drummond has been living in shelters for two years. She works at a homeless shelter, too, as a security officer at the Brookville Center — a men’s shelter at a Holiday Inn near Kennedy Airport. 

It's operated by the Acacia Network, a non-profit social services provider, but funded by the city. Drummond makes $16.50 an hour, $1.50 more than minimum wage.

“Minimum wage is not a livable wage. People cannot survive on what we get,” said Drummond. 

Drummond has become an advocate for her colleagues. She’s working with 32BJ to help unionize the workers. 

Drummond says security guards who work at city-run shelters have better pay, affordable benefits and training — compared to guards who are contracted through operators like Acacia. 

She says she's been assaulted by residents, but she does not have medical insurance. Drummond says she could not to pay $200 a month for the coverage offered through her employer.

“We need to be able to have adequate health care because we’re doing so many hours. We’re wearing on our body twice as much. We need to be able to sustain our families, ourselves,” said Drummond.

Drummond also says she's worked through most of the pandemic with limited personal protective equipment.

“It was pretty much a little too late. Most people had already been sick. Most residents weren’t complying with state and local governments rules. And the shelters weren’t enforcing it. So, we were pretty much infecting each other,” said Drummond.

A spokeswoman for Acacia Network says all employees are offered competitive wages in line with industry standards, as well as generous health benefits that cover the individual and their family. 

The city’s Department of Social Services did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Drummond plans to continue her advocacy work, hoping to get out of the shelter system for good.