Grant to fund youth job assistance program

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Santa Barbara city leaders unveiled a $863,000 grant that will support job training and employment assistance for local youth this morning on the steps of City Hall.
Calling it a significant achievement for the community, Mayor Marty Blum joined housing, business and city government representatives in proclaiming the grant a step forward in the fight against youth violence.

“Following the gang incidents that have occurred this year since March, city leaders have been working on how to keep kids out of gangs,” Blum said. “This grant will provide much-needed job skills and assistance for teens.”
To be doled out over the next three years, the federal grant — awarded by the County Workforce Investment Board — will serve 86 teenagers in high school and 96 youth that are not enrolled in school between the ages of 14 and 21, officials said. In addition to providing on-the-job or vocational training, the grant money will go to starting salaries, gas and bus allowances, and work uniforms.
“We’ve been missing a program like this in our community for a long time,” City Councilmember Grant House said.
SER - Jobs for Progress, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides similar services in 15 counties throughout the state, will administer the grant, said Rebecca Mendibles, executive director of the organization. They plan to start interviewing local youth next week and have the program in full swing by October.
“We want to hit the ground running,” Mendibles said.
Information on the job assistance program will be made available at the Santa Barbara Housing Authority and the Westside and Franklin community centers, she said. A project coordinator and three case managers will help applicants find training and a job or internship with local businesses.
“We’re trying to get them off the street and get them a job,” Mendibles said.
Nancy Rapp, Parks and Recreation director for Santa Barbara, also spoke at today’s press conference. She described how a young man with a history of gang activity earned a job in the Parks and Recreation Department after he approached Police Chief Cam Sanchez and expressed his desire to leave gang violence behind and create a new life for himself.
“It will take a commitment from youth to be successful,” Rapp said, adding, “This is a terrific opportunity for the kids in our community.”
Rapp also issued a challenge to local businesses, explaining that many business owners have approached her in recent months, asking what they can do to help prevent youth violence.
“Here’s what you can do,” Rapp said. “Make a commitment to create a place for one of these youth.”
Mayor Blum echoed Rapp, saying she will “strongly encourage” local business leaders to hire a teen. Steve Cushman, executive director of the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce, said finding business owners who are truly dedicated to the cause is going to be essential to the success of the program.
“The secret is to find the employers who will make a commitment to actually mentor the employee,” Cushman said. “My goal is to find 200 people who are willing to make that commitment.”
He said the Chamber of Commerce, one of the partners in the job assistance program, will hire a youth itself. Getting the funding to support such a program is important, Cushman said, but it isn’t the entire picture.
“It’s a huge commitment of time,” he said. “It’s not about the money. It’s whether you can make businesses believe that this is an important community service.”
Cushman plans to contact the 2,000 members of the Chamber of Commerce through a monthly newsletter and discuss the youth placement program on his radio show.
Also partnering with the Chamber of Commerce and the city of Santa Barbara is the Santa Barbara Housing Authority and the Santa Barbara School Districts. A representative from Santa Barbara City College also attended the press conference today.
The Council Committee on Youth and Children, chaired by City Councilmember Roger Horton, and the city’s Community Center Advisory Committees helped secure the federally funded grant.
To refer a local youth or apply for the job training and placement program, call SER - Jobs for Progress, Inc., at 559-452-0881.