IN THIS EPISODE:
- Summer is almost here, and the City of Houston is looking to hire young Houstonians to prepare them for the workforce. Host Khambrel Marshall sits down with Velma Laws, Assistant Chief Policy Officer and Special Projects Coordinator for City of Houston and Carisa Banda, a Hire Houston Youth alum now working for a Houston City councilmember.
- We also speak with the CEO of The Center for Pursuit who prepares individuals who are intellectually challenged for the life road ahead.
Summer jobs program looking to hire 20,000
The Summer hiring program for the City of Houston once employed 450 youth for an eight-week program.
This summer the goal is to put 20,000 youth between the ages of 16 and 24 on the payroll.
“We expanded the initiative to include the private and nonprofit sectors and that’s how ‘Hire Houston Youth’ was born,” said Velma Laws, the Assistant Chief Policy Officer and Special Projects Coordinator for the city.
Laws said the process is easy by visiting their website here.
“They can register, create a profile, and then they’re able to go to the job board and search for different types of jobs and there are thousands, literally thousands of jobs there with all kinds of employers,” she said.
Also on the program is Carisia Banda, the Director of Public Affairs for Houston City Council Member Karla Cisneros. Banda is an example of the possible fruits of this program. It was her first job while in college and she says it laid the foundation for where she is now.
The Center for Pursuit a place of respite and care for the intellectually disabled
For more than 70 years, The Center for Pursuit has been almost quietly enhancing the lives of the disabled.
“We may have folks with Autism. They may have Down Syndrome,” said Charles Canton, the CEO of The Center for Pursuit. “We have people with cerebral palsy, people with multiple diagnoses of all kinds, and many others as well, so we’re dealing with folks who have some challenges but who are just looking for the opportunity to grow.”
Part of that growth is preparing the clients for a life closer to independence and that’s where the employment training services program kicks in. “You’re looking at an individual that has been independent and then once they had a job, get that independence,” said Frank Higginbotham the Director of Employment Services. “That’s the confidence builder, just to know that they can go somewhere and earn a living for themselves. They like purchasing things like you and me. It’s amazing when they get their first paycheck.”
It’s also amazing to learn about the many other programs offered by the Center for Pursuit. Find out more on how you can help support this valuable nonprofit on this week’s Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall.
For more information on this week’s Houston Newsmakers
· Charles Canton, CEO, The Center for Pursuit
· Website: https://thecenterforpursuit.org/
· Frank Higginbotham, Director of Employment Services, The Center for Pursuit
· Website: https://thecenterforpursuit.org/
· Velma Laws, Assistant Chief Policy Officer/Special Projects Coordinator, City of Houston
· Website: https://hirehoustonyouth.org/
· Carisia Banda, Director of Special Projects, Council Member Karla Cisneros ,
· Website: https://hirehoustonyouth.org/