Queens People of the Week Dedicate Their Lives to Save the Lives of Others

NY1's latest Queens People of the Week are dedicated volunteers in Ridgewood who dedicate their lives to save the lives of others. Leisha Majtan introduces us.

Ridgewood native Steven Sharkey says he found his calling once he became a volunteer EMT.

"There are a lot of ways you can help people. You can be a therapist, you can be a teacher, that's one way of helping people,” said Steven Sharkey, a volunteer with the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps. “So I didn't know exactly how I wanted to help other people, until I came here."

The 22-year-old has dedicated his time to the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps for the last 3 years.

And he's just one of 40 regular volunteers the surrounding communities of Ridgewood, Maspeth, Bushwick and Wyckoff Heights depend on for their emergency needs.

"Just like any other EMT, paid or volunteer, we'll do a full patient assessment and then transport them to the hospital," added Sharkey.

When the volunteers aren't responding to emergency calls, they help local residents in other ways. They often drive their neighbors to and from doctors' appointments. And on weekends, they're in local parks teaching kids basic first-aid.

"It's great being able to show people what they might be able to do and just to provide that exposure of the possibilities out there," said Peter Salamon, another volunteer with the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

"It's a good skillset to have. It's something I think that everyone should be familiar with," said volunteer Chris Harris.

And it often leads to a lifetime of helping others.

"We have people who become physicians, nurses, physicians assistants. So it's really a good way to get experience but the good thing about it is, even though people may go on to other things, they always want to maintain their dedication to the Volunteer Ambulance Corps,” said Sean Graves, the volunteer captain of the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

And so for dedicating their lives to save others, the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps members are our Queens People of the Week.