PRESS RELEASE: Stretching Summer Stimulus Dollars for At-Risk Youth Employment
Posted 06/23/2009
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – As many as 300 disadvantaged and at-risk youths, ages 16 to 24, will get valuable job training and experience this summer thanks to a $1.4 million allocation to El Paso and Teller counties.
The funds, federal stimulus dollars earmarked through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will pay the wages for employers. It is administered by Pikes Peak Workforce Center, which is partnering with Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group to prepare the young job seekers for the work environment.
The program ends Sept. 30, but the skills and confidence instilled in these young adults extends past summer employment and places the youths – at risk for long-term unemployment or criminal activity – on promising career paths.
“We prepare job seekers for the real world and place them in positions that match their interests and skills,” said Adah Macindoe, program manager at Workout Ltd., a division of Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group that specializes in training at-risk youth. “Working with Pikes Peak Workforce to empower more youths – increasing their morale and self-worth – will help them become valued, contributing members of our community.”
Workout Ltd. has delivered youth services for more than 30 years. It utilizes a “strengths-based” approach – focusing on a person’s strengths, instead of their weaknesses – to allow them to become self-sufficient.
Young workers trained in this program will have the opportunity to explore their interests within custodial, clerical, culinary and construction fields, while undergoing training on computers and in customer service. The partnership with Pikes Peak Workforce Center also calls for job placement assistance, job coaching and on-the-job training.
“I’m really happy to have a job this summer,” said Carlos Sanchez, 16, a Workout Ltd. client who is now working at the Fountain Library. “Otherwise I would be at home and bored and getting into trouble.”
For more information on the program, please call Kevin Porter at (719) 314-4313.
For 134 years, Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group has created help and hope for Southern Colorado residents. Its organizations provide a broad range of services to meet adult and family needs, substance abuse, acute treatment and managed care. It also provides vocational skills training and affirmative employment in catering, design/build/construction services as well as facilities management services.
Pikes Peak Workforce Center’s Youth Work Zone supports education and promotes employment for youth in El Paso and Teller counties. More information can be found online at www.ppwfc.org.
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