By Shannon Holmes
March 20, 2006

This year, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino launched Boston’s Winter Jobs program, a nine-week work program for teens that are on probation, involved with the Department of Youth Services (DYS) or have been classified as “youthful offenders” as part of his effort to reduce youth violence and crime throughout the city.

The initiative comes at a time when the teen job market has hit an all-time low nationwide and the Boston homicide rate hitting a 10-year high in 2005. The majority of last year’s 75 murder victims were young adults who died as a result of gunfire. The main goals of the Winter Jobs program is to help this at-risk youth population to develop a positive attitude and work etiquette, be positively re-engaged in the community, build self-confidence, develop a resume and focus on making positive life choices in the future. City officials hope that the program will help curb the violence that has swept the city over the last year and focus the teens on their future.

This program gives youth 14 to 20 years old who have had brushes with the law, ranging from problems in school to fist fights to armed robbery, community-based, hands-on work experience and the fundamentals of job readiness with supervisors who double as mentors. 113 youth registered for the program, with 100 percent being referred to the program by judges, cops, probation officers and DYS. Winter Jobs, being run through the city’s Youth Opportunity (YO) Program, is held each Saturday, January 28 through March 25, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The youth participants are being paid an hourly rate of $8.00 per hour to literally clean up the streets of Boston. Additionally, each Saturday offers a lesson in basic job skills – getting to work on time, concentrating on the task at hand, and treating co-workers and people they meet with respect. The supervisors in charge of each group not only encourage the youths to develop a positive attitude about the job, but also to look beyond it. To ensure that the participating youth remain safe during the program and curb violence that has plagued the city, probation officers and DYS caseworkers meet with YO to do team assignments for the youth to minimize possible gang-conflicts and turf issues.

Winter Jobs also aims to help youths figure out how to move beyond their troubled pasts. During the weeklong February vacation, all participants got three days of job readiness training with community service projects. The participants spent two days applying for summer jobs through the Mayor’s Hope Line, attending a college fair, and working on etiquette, resume-writing, and interviewing skills. Additionally, they also spent one day pitching in at community service organizations, like the Greater Boston Food Bank and Project Place. Once the program is completed, all work-ready youth will work with YO career specialists on transition into unsubsidized employment opportunities within the city.

Participants of the Winter Jobs program said that the program has made them think more carefully about planning their future. For a few hours each Saturday, though they think it is fun, they like the positive response they get from passersby.