Message from
BSVAC Co-Founder, Joe Perez

To All the Volunteers at BSVAC:

I congratulate you on the expansion of BSVAC’s service area.  Your outstanding efforts and dedication have helped enable BSVAC to continue its tradition of saving and changing lives – a tradition that began more than 35 years ago.  When I look back and remember the humble beginnings of BSVAC, I am filled with pride and gratitude.  And I know that now you will be even busier as you respond to more emergency calls and save even more lives in the expanded service area.

I also know that the additional neighborhoods you are now serving suffer the same poor health outcomes that afflict other underserved (Black and Latino) communities in America, including lower life expectancies, increased incidence of diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and other chronic conditions.  The NYC Department of Health recently announced a statistic that illustrates the situation starkly: the pregnancy-related mortality rate for Black women in NYC is more than 9 times the rate for white women.  This situation is tragic and what makes it even more heartbreaking is the fact that these shocking disparities in health outcomes have not improved over time and still persist to this day.

Be not discouraged.  The best response is to take action.  Remember that each time you respond to a BSVAC call for emergency medical services, you are not only helping the patient – you are also affirming the worth and dignity of every individual in these underserved communities.   

Thank you and God Bless all of you.

Joe Perez
Community Liaison, Public Affairs Office
United States Coast Guard
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Clearwater, Florida

Joe Perez was the EMT who partnered with James (“Rocky”) Robinson in NYC’s Emergency Medical Services and co-founded BSVAC. Joe’s face and voice remain familiar to everyone at BSVAC from the videos and documentaries that are shown to new recruits. His exploits, humor and heroism are personally recalled with great affection by all those at BSVAC who worked directly with him.

After co-founding BSVAC and devoting years of dedicated service to BSVAC, during which he helped the organization grow through designing BSVAC’s innovative training programs, Joe relocated with his family to Florida, where he started a successful business. An avid volunteer, Joe began his volunteer service with the U.S. Coast Guard in 2009 and became Community Liaison in 2017. Among other things, he is responsible for Public Affairs projects and media, supervising tour hosts and Speakers Bureau members, and hosting community events and tour groups. He also serves as the base photographer. Joe is stationed at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, which is the U.S. Coast Guard’s largest air station.