February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 50

SEASIDE
olence, Intervention and Prevention
(CalVIP).
By 2018, the agency no longer qualified
for the CalVIP grant because
Seaside's violent crime numbers had
declined dramatically - a win for the
city and residents. " However, we still
wanted to provide more meaningful
opportunities for the youth, which is
why we started the Youth Employment
Program in 2019, " Meewis
says. During that time, SYRC hired
Kee Hyon Higgins as recreation supervisor
to set up the program.
Filling a Need
The Youth Employment Program
offers teens ages 15 to 18 an alternative
to drugs, alcohol, gangs and
other unhealthy behavior. During
that first year, recalls Meewis, " we
only had enough funding to bring
on 20 youth. And Ted, at that time,
already had a group of gentlemen
that he knew could benefit from
this program. " So, the staff approached
those kids who they already
had formed a close-knit bond
with and asked, " Hey, we're going
to be launching this program.
Are you interested in getting some
meaningful work experience? "
The SYRC team started recruiting
in March 2019 and assisting
teens with the application process.
" Working for the city, there's a lot of
documents they have to get - state
ID, a work permit, a bank account,
[tuberculosis] test [and] background
information, " notes Higgins.
He says when they started promoting
the program, teens would
see how much they could potentially
earn by working during the summer
for the city. He says the majority of
" the youth employees work about 40
hours - some 20, some 30 - depending
on whether they're out of
town on vacation, they're in sports
or even [attending] summer school.
50 Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 3
But they have the choice at the end
of the summer to continue working
with us. " Many of them stay.
What were the results of the program's
inaugural year? " [O]ut of
those 12 kids that joined the program,
I would say by the start of
year two, all 12 of them still worked
for us, " notes Meewis. " We had a
100 percent retention [rate] with
those employees for their first year
of employment. To us, that shows
that what we were doing as a program
was working. They were getting
meaningful work experience. "
For some, this program is a lifeline
- especially for those likely to
be indoctrinated into a gang. " Some
kids are grandfathered into the gang
world. They have no choice about
it, " Black explains. These young individuals
might come from a family,
whereby close relatives might
be affiliated with that life. He says
the Youth Employment Program
helps to subvert that grandfathering
process - " pull that kid...into a
program where they're going to be
nurtured and they will have the opportunity
to choose a different path. "
Black and SYRC have a good relationship
with the schools and especially
the police department " to
make sure that kids aren't going
straight to jail or to [juvenile hall], "
says Meewis. Instead, they are being
diverted to the resource center.
Among the Youth Employment
Program's biggest allies is Seaside
Mayor Ian Oglesby, who took office
in 2018. According to Meewis,
" our mayor is extremely supportive
of this program. And every year, he
asks us, 'How much money do you
need?' " Meewis says the city leader
wants to keep adding more and
more participants because he sees
the positive impact the program is
having on Seaside youth and the
community as a whole.
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Providing the Resources
and Tools
According to Black, all of the schools
in the Monterey Peninsula Unified
School District have a Positive Behavior
Intervention and Support
(PBIS) program. Through this PBIS
program, SYRC has a referral process
set up for tier two and tier three
students. " Tier two [and] tier three
mean they're at risk. They're at risk
of being kicked out of school or at
risk of failing their grades, " he says.
Meewis points out, " When going
to get a job as a youth, you have
to get a work permit through the
school. And for those kids that aren't
meeting their grades, we have
an understanding with the school
district that allows them to participate
in our program even if they're
not making [good] grades because
of this referral system.... Whereas
if they were to go to McDonald's,
they wouldn't be able to get their
work permit to work there. " School
administrators cooperate with the
program because they know Meewis
and his staff will give these teens
the help that they need to succeed in
the workplace, as well as assist them
with any of the challenges that they
may have with academics.
SYRC mentors and tutors these
kids and helps to correct a lot of the
behaviors that they're going through
at school. For those who want to
pursue the Youth Employment Program,
Black puts them on an academic
contract in which they agree
to work toward improving their
grade point average to at least a 2.0.
Preparing Them
Beyond Recreation
The
program
provides
youth
workers with tools and skills that
will help them throughout their
lifetime, such as how to conduct
themselves and answer questions
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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