More than a year into its operation, a UFT helpline for retired paraprofessionals has proved more successful than anticipated — both for those calling in and for those answering the phones.

Staffers for the Retired Paraprofessionals Support line, which started in September 2023, field questions about medical benefits, union services, paperwork and much more.

Laura Paterno, who retired in 2022 after working as a paraprofessional on Staten Island for 27 years, was one of the callers. “You’re walking through new waters,” she said of the insurance questions she faced as a retiree not yet eligible for Medicare. She called the helpline and “didn’t even have to press 1 — someone picked up the phone immediately.” Support line staff have guided her “step by step” through dental and medical insurance processes. “I feel comfort, knowing I have this hotline,” she said.

Union staff confirm that providing comfort is part of the job. Gail Warren, a retiree who began her education career as a paraprofessional, recalled her first day answering calls, when she spoke with a woman whose husband had just received a difficult diagnosis. “I was able to help immediately,” Warren said, “just by giving her someone to talk to.” Warren then connected the woman with retiree social services in the state where she lives.

Lorraine Ferrannini, another support line staffer, says she now has some people who call her regularly. “A lifeline — that’s what it has become for the retired paraprofessionals,” she said.

Staffer Lisa Viscovi said members of the support line team sometimes talk to the children of the oldest retirees about the different services the union offers and how the retiree can access benefits.

Reggie Colvin, the former first vice chair of the Paraprofessionals Chapter and now a helpline staffer, said he sometimes receives calls from in-service paraprofessionals nearing retirement. “They need the security that they will have somebody that they can call on when they retire,” he said. “I tell them, ‘We’re going to be there.’”

The team are all retirees themselves — a big asset in connecting with callers, Warren said. “I can tell them, ‘My husband’s going through that, too,’” she said. “And in general, it just helps to have a peer.”

The staffers typically handle about a dozen calls per three-hour shift. Because they’re not rushed, they can address more than the initial request. Ferrannini always checks callers’ ages and tailors advice and support accordingly. Members approaching the age of 65, for example, prompt her to send information about enrolling in Medicare.

For many callers, email isn’t a primary mode of communication, said support line team manager Steven Chazanow. This spring, he combed through the union database and found that “a couple thousand” of the 8,000-plus retired paraprofessionals were not subscribed to UFT email.

“We set about reconnecting them to the UFT retiree universe,” he said. When agents weren’t taking inbound calls, they called retired paraprofessionals who weren’t subscribed to UFT email and signed up more than 400 people. Now the team is focused on calling retired paraprofessionals who have no email address listed to check their contact details.

The call may start about giving or receiving information, Warren said, “but it really opens a door.” She always asks if there’s anything else she can help with. As part of that more free-ranging conversation, she can let them know about union benefits they might be missing. When she tells someone they’re eligible for money they didn’t know about, such as a Medicare Part B reimbursement, she said, “I feel like Santa Claus.”

The one-to-one outreach may be a slow process, Warren said, but “it’s really worth it.” The result is happy retirees who know more about how the union supports them.