 |
|
|
|
|
|
Select a country, year, category or all three from the menu below to filter the case studies.
|
|
USA - 2007
Helping High-Risk Youth Prepare for the Future
|
|
|
They are classified as "in crisis"—young people who are without a high school diploma, unemployed, in and out of jail, and without family or social support. To reverse that bleak future, Alcoa Foundation is partnering with Roca, Inc., a nonprofit community organization, on innovative projects to train and employ these at-risk youth, funded in part through a US$50,000 Alcoa Foundation grant.
Founded in 1988, Roca is a multicultural human development and community-building organization based in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The organization's primary focus is helping high-risk youth—those most likely to be struggling with drugs, gangs, unemployment, and substance abuse—get prepared to enter the job market. Roca's programs are a natural fit with two of Alcoa Foundation's key areas of focus: safe and healthy children and families, and global education and workplace skills.
"The majority of youth employment funding supports programs for young people already on the road to success," said Molly Baldwin, Roca's executive director. "We know that helping these young people acquire the basic skills they need to manage their lives changes everything for them. One of the biggest barriers is that they're just not prepared to succeed at a job. We have to address the gap between employers' needs and many young people's workforce skills, including their ability to communicate, show respect to coworkers and customers, work in a team, and be on time."
Massachusetts, like other parts of the U.S., is facing a diminishing entry-level workforce, and the state's 70,000 in-crisis youth could help fill this void. In addition, getting these potential employees off the streets and into stable jobs could save the government US$4 million over a young person's life—the estimated average cost of incarceration, property damage, welfare, and more.
In response, Roca has created two business enterprises that train and employ at-risk youth in safe yet highly supervised work environments to provide much-needed transition skills and prepare them for a transition to the job market.
Circle Catering, started in May 2005 as Tacos Unidos and revamped in late 2006, is a catering company specializing in Latin cuisine. By operating a food service business, Roca provides an entry-level gateway into the workforce for youth who may lack education credentials and/or marketable job skills.
Of the 10 people on the payroll between July 2005 and June 2006, one remained with Circle Catering at the end of January 2007 and four moved on to other employment. The remaining five entered other Roca programs, were looking for a job with Roca's help, or were no longer involved with the organization.
In March 2006, Roca started a second transitional employment program called the KEY Project. Participants undergo very structured training and mentoring in soft skills and then move into sustained employment. Seven-member crews do painting, landscaping, custodial work, and other basic maintenance services through contracts Roca has secured with the cities of Boston, Chelsea, and Revere.
Of the 109 participants from March to October 2006 (40% of whom had substance abuse issues), 43 were still enrolled in the KEY Project or working outside of Roca at the end of January 2007, seven were in other Roca programs, 23 left the program but were working on reentry into the program, and seven returned to school. The remaining 29 left the program for various reasons, including incarceration, relocation, and maternity leave.
Explained Matt McLaughlin, director of Roca's work projects, "There's really nobody else working with this group of young people. Even though we're still in the process of fully developing these programs, they are already looked at as best practices because of the employment crisis in Massachusetts and the need to re-integrate these young people into society."
The goal for both of Roca's social enterprise work programs is to become financially self-sustaining.
|
|
|
|
|
|
