Updates Week of August 15, 2022

#CALIFORNIANS4ALL GIVES $53M TO YOUTH PROGRAMS

On Monday, August 15, 2022, Mayor Garcetti was joined by Assemblywoman Wendy Carillo, Councilmember Kevin De Leon, California's Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday, City partners, and LA youth to celebrate the #CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs Corps program (CA4All). Through this program, the City of Los Angeles will receive $53 million in state funding to expand the City’s 14 youth workforce development programs across five City departments, creating 4,000 job opportunities for young Angelenos. Among these programs, EWDD’s LA:RISE Youth Academy, Angeleno Corps and Student to Student Success Program will receive CA4All grant funding.

“Through investing in our youth, we are investing in our future. In a time when everything moves at the speed of light, it is important to equip our young people with the tools necessary to succeed,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “#CaliforniansForAll will provide our youth and young adults with practical experiences, preparing them to take on the challenges of today and tomorrow. Thank you to our state partners for believing in and supporting LA’s youth.”

The CA4All Youth Jobs Corps initiative focuses on providing paid career development opportunities for Angelenos ages 16-30 in sectors such as climate change, food insecurity, and local COVID-19 recovery efforts. The program will also provide youth with support services such as case management, resume preparation, special job training, and other benefits to help ensure both their short- and long-term success. Priority will be given to youth applicants who are low-income, unemployed and/or out of school, recently released from incarceration, are transitioning from foster care, or are dealing with mental health or substance abuse issues.

For more information and to apply, visit: HireLAYouth.com. EWDD’s YouthSource Centers provide free resources to young Angelenos. To learn more, visit: bit.ly/EWDDYouthSource.

FORMERLY WSC CLIENTS, NOW FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

COVID-19 disproportionately impacted the lives of women and underscored the challenges women face in balancing family and workplace responsibilities, including Annemarie Feltman and Bacillia Acosta. Annemarie (above left) was laid off from her job at the beginning of the pandemic, and Bacillia (above right), a Watts resident, had been looking for work, but was forced to stop after her children’s school closed. Through the Watts WorkSource Center (WSC) they were enrolled in the COVID-19 National Dislocated Worker Grant (NDWG) program, a transitional employment program funded by the federal CARES Act. Annemarie and Bacillia both completed 300 hours of work at the Watts Empowerment Center in the Imperial Courts Public Housing Development. Their duties included assisting with food distribution to families impacted by the pandemic, back-to-school events, the weekly farmer’s market, and sanitizing common areas to reduce the spread of COVID-19. After completing their hours, both women were hired permanently to work at the Watts WSC, operated by EWDD contractor, the Housi ng Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA). Annemarie is now the Director of Programming and Bacillia is now the Community Communications Liaison. They said that they are both grateful to secure permanent employment and are looking forward to becoming part of the support system of Imperial Courts. The NDWG project is 100% federally-funded in the amount of $1.8 million.

EWDD operates 16 WorkSource Centers and 3 portal offices in Los Angeles. The centers act as a personal employment agency for Angelenos and our services are always free. For more information, contact your local center at bit.ly/EWDDWorkSource.

WSC INTERN HIRED FULL-TIME

The Watts WorkSource Center, overseen by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), helped Destiny Pineda obtain an internship that led to a full-time job as a Housing Support Specialist. Destiny completed 1,000 hours as an administrative intern in HACLA’s Workforce Development Unit. She assisted staff with data entry and outreach for HACLA’s Youth Employment Program. As a Watts WorkSource Center (WSC) participant, case management staff provided Destiny with supportive services such as assisting her with transportation challenges during her internship. During her internship, the Watts WSC Job Development Team encouraged Destiny and helped her apply for open positions with HACLA. As Destiny’s internship came to an end, she received a job offer as a Housing Support Specialist at HACLA. Destiny gained several transferable skills during her internship, including case management and data entry, that she is currently applying in her new role. Destiny’s role as a Housing Support Specialist includes linking clients to resources that will result in housing stability, providing housing location assistance by finding potential rental units, facilitating meetings with landlords in an effort to increase housing stock, and assisting individuals with securing a rental unit.

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If you have any questions, comments, or wish to have a contribution considered for inclusion in an upcoming "Updates," please feel free to contact Jamie Francisco at (213) 744-9048 or Jamie.Francisco@lacity.org