Local Teens Sour Over Summer Youth Employment Program

Monique Scott will spend her summer doing her least favorite activity: babysitting her little brother.

She doesn’t want to. The 17-year-old Boys and Girls High School senior would rather work at American Eagle or a clothing store at Kings Plaza Shopping Center. But after she applied to New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program, months have passed and no one has called Monique for a job.

“I know they won’t pick me, because when you tell those people how old you are, they look at you all weird,” she said.

Monique not getting a phone call has little to do with her age and more to do with the youth employment program having fewer open slots these days.

New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which dates back to the 1960s, pairs city teens and young adults with seven-week jobs mostly in non-profit and government offices. The program exposes its participants to real-world work environments and gives them spending money for the summer.

But the program, which has placed hundreds of thousands of 14- to 24-year-olds in summer jobs, has been losing financial support in recent years. Funding from the federal government and the state legislature has dwindled, forcing New York City officials to accept fewer applicants into the program.

Now, with a reduced amount of spots available, the cuts in funding are leaving Bed-Stuy teenagers with a smaller chance at gaining employment this summer.

In 2009, the program had room for 52,000-plus applicants and enjoyed a $19.5 million budget. But in 2010, stimulus dollars disappeared and the program’s budget plummeted to $8.5 million and 35,725 available spots, said Andrew Doba, spokesman for the city’s youth and community development department.

The program has another $8.5 million budget this summer, Doba said, but still can’t afford to offer the same number of slots as previous years. Doba said city officials are committed to keeping the program going for as long as possible, but it’s unfortunate that the funds are drying up, because “our real concern is for the young people.”

“We know that work experience for young people is more than just seven weeks in the summer,” Doba said. “We know that young people who work tend to stay in school, go to higher education and earn more in life.”

Monique’s friend Shiann Courthan, 17, has applied to the program for the past two years.

“When I first heard of it, I was geeked, I was like ‘oh, this will get me a job,’ but then, all these years passed, nobody called me and now I’m like ‘oh, never again,'” Shiann said, adding that she will not apply for the program in her upcoming senior year.

Willie Sanchez, senior job developer for Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, said many local teens like Monique and Shiann were anxious to apply for the program this year. But after watching their friends strike out, some teens are steering clear of the program and deciding not to seek employment over the summer.

“You had a lot of high school kids headed to college who depended on those jobs,” Sanchez said. He hopes the program stays for many years because, he said, it teaches teenagers responsibility, accountability and maturity. “It gave them so much in the summer to do and now you’ll have more kids out on the street.”

Monique and Shiann admitted that they will spend more time on the street this summer because they believe the program failed them. On most days, Monique said she and her friends will “avoid getting into trouble, but for the most part, we’ll sit out here and chill.”

“Employment is like education for them, it’s something they’ve never done before,” said Sanchez. “In the end, it was all about maturing them – them gaining maturity. The only difference was, they got a paycheck.”