We are proud partners and a work site for this year’s Summer Youth Employment Program at the Community Care Alliance of RI (CCA). Thirteen of the hundred teens in the program were placed at the NWBRV site. The teens, ages 14-19, are focused on neighborhood revitalization and are investing their efforts into the Fairmount neighborhood of Woonsocket.
Transforming the Mason Street railroad trestle in Woonsocket.
Investing in Fairmount
Led by Community Engagement Specialist, Antonio Rodriguez, youth participants spend about 16 hours/week outside in the Our Neighborhoods Planning District engaging in stewardship activities such as sweeping, weeding, trash pick up, plantings, etc.
A cornerstone project for the summer will be the transformation of the Mason Street railroad trestle. Working with Youth Program participants placed with Riverzedge Arts, the teens have cleared the area and will be adding a vibrant mural, flowers, and other touches to breath new life into a key neighborhood entrance-way.
A sketch of the mural, which will wrap around a concrete wall on Mason Street, spilling onto Second Avenue.
Participants are also working in neighborhood parks, tackling vandalism, and acting as ambassadors for the neighborhood to residents and businesses in the area like the Fairmount Foundry.
About the Program
“To prepare these ambitious young people for their sometimes first experience in the working world, CCA provides a week of work readiness training, covering workplace expectations, resume building, interviews and financial literacy. Local employers (see list below) then provide five weeks of work experience to participating teens.” according to a CCA blog post on the program.
Funding from the Workforce Partnership of Greater RI and the Governor’s Workforce Board provide the support needed to hire the teens for the six week summer program. In year’s past, almost 2/3 of the participants maintained their employment after the summer program ended.
Other Work Site Partners Include
NWBRV isn’t the other site working with the CCA Program this summer. Other sites include Beacon Charter High School, Camp Ruggles, the City of Woonsocket, Connecting for Children and Families, CVS/Caremark, Farm Fresh Rhode Island, Glenark Apartments, Ivy’s Place (Pascoag), Landmark Medical Center, Riverzedge Arts, Saint Antoine Residence, Stadium Theatre, and Woonsocket Call.
To become a work site or to help support this program, please contact Stump Olsen at CCA’s YouthWorks 411 Career Center at Stump Olsen
401-671-2971 or by email at SOlsen@CommunityCareRI.org.
