July 13, 2009

U.S. unemployment rates have reached unsettling highs, particularly in the West. In May, the Western region reported a jobless rate of 10.1 percent. The national rate was only slightly lower at 9.4 percent. High unemployment is damaging particularly for youth. Unable to compete with older and more experienced applicants, employers often pass over young people in a slim job market. This leaves youth without the income some need to help with family expenses and with more time to become a social nuisance.

In addition, Seattle faces a juvenile violent crime rate of about 800 incidents a year. This is the lowest it has been since 1968. However, the crime rate in Seattle has become stagnant and shows no signs of further decline.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels seeks to remedy these problems, provide for Seattle’s youth and decrease the amount of violence in his city, through Seattle’s Youth Summer Jobs Program, which is part of the year-round Seattle Youth Employment Program. Seattle’s Summer Jobs program provides youth with a paycheck and the opportunity to learn valuable job-related skills that make them more “employment ready,” while keeping them out of trouble.

At the program’s kick off on June 24, Nickels said, “One of the best ways to reduce youth violence is to show our young people new opportunities and a bright future. The city’s Summer Jobs program will give hundreds of young people new skills and help put them on the right path.”

The city has been operating the Seattle Youth Employment Program for more than 25 years. New funding from the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative and The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) allowed Nickels to expand the program to employ 650 youth this Summer, a significant increase from 492 last year.

In addition, the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative also funds job programs for at-risk youth who are susceptible to committing or becoming a victim of a violent crime this Summer. The initiative has dedicated $402,000 for teenagers who are repeat offenders, have been arrested but not detained, have problems with truancy or suspensions at their middle schools or have been affected by violence, ages 14 to 17. The program for teenages will place them in productive work environments where they can work in childcare, reception work, physical labor, educational training and vocational apprenticeships.

Federal funds were crucial in increasing the employment opportunities for Seattle’s disadvantaged youth this summer. Seattle received $1.1 million from ARRA’s $1.2 billion dedicated to youth employment. With this money, Seattle’s Summer Jobs program has placed hundreds of disadvantaged youth who are low-income and who face barriers, such as disabilities or homelessness, in internships within emerging fields of employment, such as green jobs, health care, technology and skilled trades. Participants in this part of the program are 16 to 24 years old.

Seattle’s Summer Jobs program also offers its participants workshops that assist the program’s participants in preparation for their futures. Program seminars on post secondary opportunities, career pathways, resume writing and job interview and applications teach participants about the choices that await them after graduation and the best way to pursue those options. The program also offers seminars on real life, such as health, communication, leadership, substance abuse, filing taxes and cultural competency, which provides participants with the survival skills necessary to ensure success in school and after.

Increased safety of Seattle neighborhoods and schools and the improvement of a great number of individuals’ lives is the measurement of success for this program. The Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, which includes the Summer Jobs program, has specific goals. It seeks to reduce juvenile violent crime referrals in three target Seattle neighborhoods where crime is the highest and reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions due to violent incidents in five target middle schools by 50 percent.

Seattle’s Summer Jobs program began July 6 and lasts for seven weeks. Youth interns earn $8.55 an hour, the minimum wage in Seattle, and youth in group projects receive academic credit and a $900 stipend. The program’s major partners are Environmental Outreach and Stewardship (EOS) Alliance, Center for Career Alternatives, Metrocenter YMCA, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, SafeFutures Youth Center, Seattle Public Schools, other city departments, community agencies, businesses, employers and local colleges.