Leverage Resources Archives - Hartford Opportunity Youth Collaborative

Hartford Receives $2 Million Grant for Promise Zone Youth

May 20, 2016 by Kim Oliver

Access to a job in the summer and beyond can make all the difference to a young person – especially those who don’t have access to many resources and opportunities.”
– President Barack Obama

Hartford has secured a federal grant to provide 275 youth with summer and year-round job opportunities and exposure to career pathways for in-demand job sectors. Capital Workforce Partners (CWP) is partnering with the City of Hartford, Hartford Public Schools, Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, and two employer partnerships – MetroHartford Alliance for Careers in Health Care and Advanced Manufacturing Employer Partnership – and leveraging its partnership with Hartford Opportunity Youth Collaborative and others to offer Promise Zone Youth Employment for Success (Promise Zone YES!).

“Connecting Hartford’s young men and women to jobs is the single most important thing we can do to build a stronger Hartford. Promise Zone YES! is a critical part of our effort to expand youth employment opportunities in Hartford, and I’m incredibly grateful to Senator Blumenthal, Senator Murphy, Congressman Larson and the Obama Administration for their support. I also want to thank Capital Workforce Partners and other community groups who are working hard to prepare to launch this program for Hartford’s young people.”
– Luke Bronin, Mayor of Hartford and Chair of Hartford Opportunity Youth Collaborative

Promise Zone YES! serves as a way to transform youth-serving systems and engage the North Hartford Promise Zone in partnership with Blue Hills Civic Association, unlocking the untapped talent of North Hartford as an engine for economic prosperity and investment in the future of the youth.

Promise Zone YES! will serve 275 in-school and out-of-school youth, with 190 placed in unsubsidized employment, 85 placed in post-secondary education or training, and 204 gaining industry-recognized credentials. CWP, the local workforce development board for North Central Connecticut, will partner with the City of Hartford, Hartford Public Schools, Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, and two employer partnerships.

Notably, Promise Zone YES! will engage Youth Leaders, including youth who have successfully completed HOYC’s Youth Leadership Development Training Program and/or WIA/WIOA youth programs to act as peer mentors to participating youth. Mentoring will be provided in coordination with project staff and, as appropriate, with other partners and community stakeholders. This may include one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring (including youth leadership clubs), and/or peer mentoring. The youth leadership clubs will offer group-based college and career search assistance, networking, and peer support groups, all centered in the NHPZ and integrated with the community. Youth Leaders will be eligible for stipends, which are reflected in the project budget.

News of Hartford receiving these federal funds is part of a larger U.S. Department of Labor announcement of $21 million in Grants to Connect Young Americans to Jobs. Connecticut’s capital city is one of 11 communities across the country will receive a portion of the $21 million to launch and expand innovative approaches that provide young people with summer and year-round jobs.

If you are interested in learning more about Promise Zone YES!, contact Kim Oliver.

New Initiative Aims to Increase Job Opportunities for Young Adults

January 4, 2016 by Kim Oliver

The Annie E. Casey Foundation awarded $6 million in grants several years ago to increase job opportunities for young adults from low income families in Hartford and four other communities (Cleveland, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Seattle). Hartford received up to $900,000 over the grant period for planning and implementation.

Through Generation Work, the Foundation combines building relationships with businesses, factoring in their needs in the local economy, with youth development strategies to prepare young people for work, such as mentoring and on-the-job learning opportunities. Ultimately, Casey works with Hartford Generation Work to support the Hartford Opportunity Youth Collaborative and other local efforts that serve young job seekers and have strong connections with businesses.

Locally, Hartford Generation Work is led by United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, working with five other community partners — Capital Workforce Partners, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Hartford Opportunity Youth Collaborative, Our Piece of the Pie and Workforce Solutions Collaborative of Metro Hartford. Hartford’s initiative will connect young adults, including those out-of-school or work or underemployed, with education, training and employment for careers in manufacturing and healthcare. The initiative also intends to improve coordination and collaboration among partners and youth initiatives.

“This investment in our future workforce is key to the region’s prosperity and economic health,” says Alex Johnson, president and CEO of Capital Workforce Partners. “We have been excited to be part of this initiative.”

“We’re have been proud to have been selected for this award, which furthers the work with our partners to assist young adults with the skills for employment,” said Paula Gilberto, president and CEO of United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut.

While the Great Recession hit many hard, teens and young adults have experienced the most drastic drop in employment, data show. Millions of young people — particularly young people of color, justice-system involved, or aging out of foster care and from low-income families — face obstacles to employment or education, and the percentage of young people ages 18 to 29 in the job market has steadily declined in recent years. At the same time, employers often struggle to find workers with the right set of skills for available positions.

“The strength of our future workforce is one of our nation’s greatest assets and is critical to our ability to compete globally,” said Allison Gerber, a senior associate who oversees the Casey Foundation’s investments in improving job opportunities for low-income individuals and families. “The next generation is eager to work, but we must create more avenues for young adults to develop the knowledge and experience they need to succeed in the job market.”

RESOURCES

Generation Work 2018 Report
Connecticut Kids Count
Hartford Data

National Evaluator for Aspen Visits Hartford

December 7, 2015 by Kim Oliver

Equal Measures, the national evaluator for Aspen’s Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund, is visiting Hartford on December 8th and 9th for a site visit. During the visit, Equal Measures will attend the Collaborative meeting on December 8th at 12 noon and meet individually with some organization members to learn about experiences, learnings, impact, and perspectives on the collaborative.

The site visit will focus on understanding how the collective impact model is being used to build education and career pathways for Opportunity Youth in Hartford. It aims to identify strategies for improving outcomes among opportunity youth, and to elevate and share those lessons with the Aspen Institute and other collaboratives participating in the Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund, as well as with the field more broadly. Equal Measure is not assessing the collaborative’s progress or judging site performance.

The goals of the site visit are three-fold:

To better understand the collaborative’s strategies for improving the education and employment outcomes of Opportunity Youth in the community
To identify factors that influence progress in the community and its efforts to enact systems change
To elevate promising approaches for using collaboratives to improve Opportunity Youth outcomes

The agenda is available here , the theory of change for the Aspen Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund is here, and the recording of the member webinar is here.

For questions, contact Kim Oliver.

Hartford Receives $2 Million Grant for Promise Zone Youth

New Initiative Aims to Increase Job Opportunities for Young Adults

National Evaluator for Aspen Visits Hartford

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