Friendly House is launching career-development programs for at-risk youth with the help of grants from the The U.S. Department of Labor, which they received over the summer and fall.
The community multi-service organization was awarded the Pathways to Justice Career for Youth Grant in the summer and the YouthBuild Grant in October. These grants will help build the new programs.
The announcement came at the ARIZONA@WORK Advancing Youth Workshop Tuesday. ARIZONA@WORK city of Phoenix is federally funded to provide at-risk-youth between the ages of 16 and 24 in the Phoenix area with workforce career pathway services and is part of a larger statewide organization. ARIZONA@WORK funds programs like Friendly House, which offers educational services to the youth in an effort to stabilize and promote progress in the community, according to Mary Alejandro, community and business liaison for ARIZONA@WORK.
Friendly House’s PJC Lead Case Manager Mariana Torres presented the Pathways to Justice Career for Youth project during the committee meeting. The project was made possible by the grant, which will provide $1 million in funding over the next three years.
Torres said the project’s goal is to enroll 250 students, provide them with mentoring services summer employment opportunities, and ultimately ensure they graduate from high school. Through the program, students will be exposed to careers such as the firefighting, policing, EMT and the law field. Active participants will have access to tutoring, counseling, case management, and career presentations workshops.
“For the workshops, we want individuals who are excited about their careers to come and present for the students,” Torres said, “ideally doing hands-on projects.”
Eligibility is based on the student’s age, residence, and risk of involvement in the criminal justice system, such as low grade point average, poor school attendance, discipline problems, etc.
“We’re really excited to start recruiting,” Torres said. “Hopefully by next week we can start registering students who have shown interest in the program.”
Samantha Hansen, Friendly House’s workforce development director, presented for YouthBuild, which will work with youth between the ages of 16 and 24. This grant awarded Friendly House with $911,494 to help provide the job training for careers in construction, according to a statement from Rep. Ruben Gallego.
“We’re going to be working with youth in Central Phoenix and Glendale to help them get their GED and a construction training,” Hansen said. Participants of the program will build homes for low-income families and earn certificates.
Hansen said the goal is to be able to place students in the construction work field at the end of the program.
Those at the meeting also discussed following up with program participants after they graduate from the program to track career and higher education progress.
Manuela Sheehan, of Neighborhood Ministries, said she thought following up with the students should be considered.
“That’s not a bad idea,” she said. “If they’re co-enrolled, they can continue and (receive) follow-ups.”
Contact the reporter at amestra4@asu.edu.
