Workshop groups say job fair all about second chances
SAMOHI — The first steps to quell gang violence in Santa Monica have been taken, following two workshops held on the issue earlier this year, according to organizers.
One of the objectives that emerged from the gang violence workshops was to provide job opportunities to at-risk youth living in the community. Last week’s job fair apparently met that criteria, as organizers of the event hailed it a success.
Community activists, business leaders and elected officials said the job fair staged at Santa Monica High School last Wednesday has put into motion an “action plan” which originated from the workshops. The fair — organized by social service groups, the chamber of commerce, City Hall and state representatives — was intended to help individuals up to 24 years of age secure jobs.
“Nothing stops a bullet like a job,” said Oscar de la Torre, director of the Pico Youth & Family Center (PYFC), a City Hall-funded nonprofit group that strives to improve the lives of youth in the Pico neighborhood. “We can take young people who are selling drugs and get them off the streets by giving them hope. And there is nothing more hopeful than a pay-check.”
The first gang violence workshop, held Feb. 26, was sponsored by the city of Santa Monica and State Sen. Sheila Kuehl. The goal was to pool ideas from community members, leaders and experts geared towards reducing gang violence in Santa Monica.
A second session was originally scheduled in March, but postponed until April 9 due to the murders of Hector Bonilla, 25, and Jonathan Hernandez, 19, who were shot multiple times on March 5 at a birthday party held at the Moose Lodge at 16th Street and Ocean Park Boulevard.
The killings took place in front of between 50 and 70 witnesses, according to police, who said witnesses have provided detectives with little information, making the investigation difficult. The suspects are still at large.
The goal of the second workshop was to come up with realistic ways to reduce gang violence in Santa Monica over the next two years. In addition, Sen. Kuehl invited regional economic and law enforcement representatives to pledge their organizations’ help in rallying around anti-gang-violence efforts.
Among the types of action needed to reduce gang violence, participants said more job opportunities were needed for struggling youth.
Stacey Serber, an employment specialist with the Work Source Center, a nonprofit organization which helped organize the job fair, said 380 job-seekers attended, along with 33 employers offering more than 125 jobs. The jobs available included work in the fields of auto repair, computers, health, retail and the entertainment industry.
Serber said the goal was to help youth secure 50 jobs offered by 20 different employers. She feels, based on the turnout, that both goals were exceeded.
Kathy Dodson, president and CEO for the chamber of commerce, said the job fair offered many job opportunities for youth, while at the same time fulfilled some temporary and permanent needs for local businesses.
“It was a first-time job fair we pulled together quickly and worked out well with a wide variety of companies that were there,” Dodson said. “If it is successful, it may become an annual event.”
De la Torre said the PYFC helped inform youth of the job fair and prepared them with workshops in resumé development and interviewing.
De la Torre said one of the most promising developments to come out of the job fair is the possibility that some Santa Monica businesses may begin hiring residents who have felonies, and are looking for a second chance.
De la Torre believes the PYFC could help the chamber make sure the program is effective by providing counseling to the employees.
“We promise to offer any employees a chance to help overcome barriers by offering case and time management skills on a continued basis, so that they are not going to be set up for failure,” de la Torre said.
Among the goals discussed at the workshops, Nat Trives, chairman of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, said the chamber also plans to create a 100 at-risk youth mentor program with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters. That plan depends on a successful grant proposal with the hope of being in place within two years.
John Deasy, superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, said in addition to hosting the youth job fair, the district has been successful in creating two new programs specifically intended to help struggling students, which he discussed at the workshops. He said both the community day school and value youth work program will begin in September.
The community day school is a program intended to help students who have been incarcerated get back into school. The valued youth program intends to provide motivation for students to stay in school by paying them to tutor younger students.
City Hall spokesperson Judy Rambeau said the city has budgeted for next year to reach a number of objectives intended to help the Pico neighborhood, which is located on the eastside of the city and experiences the majority of gang-related crimes.
City Hall will hire a trades intern position — someone who works for City Hall in order to gain work experience in a trade. There will be another graffiti removal position added to the city budget. There also have been lighting improvements budgeted for Pico next year, which is designed to build a sense of community and reduce crime.
City Manager Susan McCarthy met with the key players from the workshops with the intent of developing the official course of actions each group aims to fulfill.
Rambeau said that information should be posted on City Hall’s Web site today.
According to De la Torre, efforts similar to the job fair need to be continued.
“This isn’t a one-shot deal,” de la Torre said. “We need to do this on a continual basis and keep the dialogue going on why our young people suffer from violence and drug addiction.
“We can’t just have two community workshops and think the problem is going to go away.”
For more information on the gang violence workshops, visit the Web site at www.StopGangViolence.smgov.net.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 3, 2005. Read the original PDF.