YORKTOWN, N.Y. —Each year, the Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps responds to thousands of calls—racing to homes, accident scenes, and emergencies to help their neighbors. For some members, joining the corps was unexpected. For others, it felt like a calling.
But keeping the agency running takes more than commitment; it takes people and resources. As call volumes increase and operational costs climb, the need for new volunteers and community support is more urgent than ever. Without both, the lifesaving work Yorktown relies on could be at risk.
Known around town as YVAC, the Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps is a self-funded, nonprofit agency that has provided Basic Life Support services across Yorktown since 1963. Powered by donations and service billing—with no financial support from the town—YVAC was the first ambulance corps in the county to offer 24/7 EMT-Intermediate coverage. In 2024, the corps recorded 1,732 calls, marking the second highest in its history, and logged over 12,900 miles and responded to 161 mutual aid calls outside its district.
Chief of Police Robert Noble said his department and YVAC “have always maintained an excellent relationship throughout the years,” and added that the department has deep respect and appreciation for "all Yorktown and Mohegan EMS volunteers and professionals.”
According to a presentation in front of the Town Board in early May, the agency passed a budget exceeding $1 million for the first time. Staffed by a diverse team of local volunteers with support from paid professionals, the agency continues to seek new members to support its mission. Applications are available at yvac.net/application.
Lirije Mustafaj began her EMS journey in late 2019 after losing someone close to her in what she called a preventable emergency.
“I realized I knew nothing about emergency care and was driven to learn everything I could,” Mustafaj, now 25, said. Earning her EMT certification in 2020, she began volunteering with YVAC just as the pandemic took hold. What started as a response to personal loss soon became a passion. Now a full-time paramedic working in Yorktown, Peekskill, and surrounding areas, Mustafaj described the role as “extremely fulfilling.”
She said that volunteering has allowed her to connect with others who share similar values, while continuing to learn on the job.
“What drives EMS is dedication. In Yorktown and many other local volunteer agencies, people sacrifice their time to provide care and invest in our community's well-being,” she said, acknowledging that in New York State, EMS isn’t mandated by law—meaning the state isn’t legally required to fund it, and local governments aren’t obligated to provide it. “Many EMS providers work multiple jobs to earn a living wage, causing burnout and high turnover rates.”
She said volunteer agencies like YVAC are becoming increasingly reliant on supplemental paid staff to ensure ambulance coverage.
“By volunteering, you strengthen the community's ability to respond to emergencies and can make a difference in critical moments,” she said.
In 2024, Mustafaj logged over 300 volunteer hours with YVAC and another 100 with Mohegan EMS, responding to roughly 200 calls between both agencies.
“You can have 99 bad calls, but it only takes one to pull you back in. Resilience and patience are key, both for our patients and ourselves,” she said. “It's easy to become jaded in this field, so finding joy in the little things is essential. I keep going because I find that you can learn something from everyone, and when my patients express feeling even slightly better, or I learn something new, I take it as a win.”
There is something special about YVAC, she said. It’s local—and that matters.
“If I’m available and can help someone nearby, why wouldn’t I?," she said.
Town Supervisor Ed Lachterman believes it's selflessness and volunteerism that should be acknowledged.
“All of our communities should be thankful for EMS services, especially those that have volunteer corp,” he told Yorktown News. “The dedication and devotion that these men and women show to their neighbors is outstanding. They are there for us in our darkest moments.”
Like Mustafaj, Mahopac’s Patrick Baia was young when he began volunteering with YVAC, at just 14. Now 23 and a full-time paramedic with Empress EMS, he still finds time to give back—spending about 34 hours of his 48–56-hour workweeks responding to calls in Yorktown.
“I think this is a very rewarding line of work and while it has its ups and downs every single day is different,” he said. “It is a unique responsibility to walk into someone's home and immediately be trusted to take care of them or their loved one on one of their worst days.”
For Rick Haughwout, the husband of Councilwoman Luciana Haughwout and father of three, the path to this work was different. While working full-time in investment banking, he started EMT classes with YVAC in March 2020, planning to volunteer a few shifts monthly. But the pandemic changed everything.
“The work started resonating with me,” he said. “I worked in corporate America over 20 years, it’s a good paycheck, it’s a comfortable job, it’s stable—you don’t feel like you’re really being of service or doing anything of real value, and there is not much nobility in that.”
After about a year, he was asked to be a line officer and now serves as a lieutenant. To him, leadership and more responsibility just felt right. In 2022, faced with a return-to-office mandate and a long commute to the city, he said he had an epiphany: “I don’t want this life anymore ... I knew what I wanted, it was something I had thought about, which was going to become a paramedic.”
The commitment and responsibility is not one he takes lightly.
It’s bringing “the emergency room to your home,” Haughwout said.
Note: This article was updated on Friday, May 23, to include comment from Town Supervisor Ed Lachterman.
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