By Tom Spoth, tspoth@lowellsun.com
LOWELL -- The city plans to beef up its summer-jobs program for local youth this year by reaching out to private companies, according to those involved with the effort.
About 500 letters have been mailed out to area businesses large and small, imploring the companies to find money in their budgets to hire one or two local teenagers, City Manager Bernie Lynch said.
"We're talking $1,500 or $1,600 for a business to have someone they can use for the summer," Lynch said.
He described the program as beneficial for all involved: Young people can earn some spending money and gain marketable skills; the city keeps youths off the street, potentially reducing crime and violence; and employers help the community and get relatively cheap labor (and potentially some tax credits).
Barbara O'Neil, director of the Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board, said the change is long overdue. State and federal funding for municipal summer jobs has dwindled, and many young people have found themselves with few options for summer employment, she said.
"We used to get money years ago for 700 kids (for Lowell and surrounding communities)," O'Neil said. "Last year, we served about 150 kids total."
Those jobs will remain, according to O'Neil and Lynch, with the private jobs added on top.
It's crucial to give local youths opportunities to gain work experience, said Gregg Croteau, executive director of Lowell's United Teen Equality Center. There are around 15,000 people between the ages of 16 and 21 in Lowell, and not enough jobs to go around, Croteau said. In the past 10 years, he has noticed a "huge reduction" in available summer employment.
"There's a huge gap there," he said. "It's a mess."
The old saying that idle hands are the devil's workshop is especially true for teens, Croteau said. "Research has proven that the more structured opportunity for young people in the summer, there's a direct correlation to the reduction of youth violence," he asserted, adding that much of that violence occurs during the summer.
Lynch said the initiative will "keep kids off the streets and give them an opportunity to learn about work." He said young people in Lowell generally want to work, but often can't find employment. The summer-job program would typically offer about eight weeks of employment at about 30 hours per week, he estimated.
O'Neil said that once employers have signed up for the program, a workshop will be held to try to match kids with suitable companies.
Croteau was optimistic that the effort will help youths in the city.
"Any investment in providing summer jobs for young people is a huge investment for young people in general," he said. "The skills (learned) in one summer could be the window that opens for a young person to be engaged for many, many more years."
This story appeared in the Lowell Sun on Sunday, April 15, 2007