Some people spend their entire lives stumbling through jobs
ill-suited to their personalities, which turns work into the
ultimate four-letter word.
Hollister – Some people spend their entire lives stumbling through jobs ill-suited to their personalities, which turns work into the ultimate four-letter word.
But a group of community members, in conjunction with the Hollister Police Department and the local YMCA, are joining forces to show Hollister’s youth there are opportunities available in their own backyard that could not only help them get a good job, but possibly the perfect career for them to build a promising future on.
Hollister police Capt. Richard Vasquez and YMCA Executive Director Lou Bettencourt, who work side-by-side to help at-risk youths involved in the police department’s Juvenile Impact Program, recently launched a spin-off career guidance program for teens ages 12 to 17 after they graduate from the Juvenile Impact Program.
Juvenile Impact, which began in 2002, is an 11-week program for teens who have been referred to the program either by their parents or the county probation department because of a first-time offense such as fighting, truancy or gang affiliation, Vasquez said. Most of the teens involved in the program are there for minor crimes, and most of the parents also take a 10-week parenting class, Vasquez said.
During the impact program the participants take career aptitude tests. The new career guidance program, which stresses long-term job development, matches the teens’ interests with a person in the community who is involved in that specific field, he said.
“It’s the real-life aspect of what it takes to earn a living,” Bettencourt said. “But the underlying goal is to get them an advocate. Somebody from our community that is going to support them and show them that the community does care about their success.”
Bettencourt and Vasquez drummed up support for the program by talking about it to anyone who would listen, and their hard work paid off. The department already has about 27 volunteers anxious to sponsor Hollister’s youth, and the list is steadily growing for community members who want to show a future attorney, disc jockey or banker the ropes, Vasquez said.
While there are only 18 juveniles participating in the program this go-around, Vasquez said they are looking for as many community sponsors as possible to jump on the bandwagon so there will be a diverse pool of volunteers when the next group of teens graduate from the impact program.
“We always tell the community, get involved, get involved – but these people actually stepped up and got involved,” he said. “It’s easy to give money, but it’s really tough to give your time.”
A participant meets with his or her sponsor for one hour, twice a month for four months, Bettencourt said. During their meetings the sponsor shows the teens how to dress, how to act, what the education and experience requirements are and possibly some hands-on learning, he said.
While some of the teens’ first-choice career settings weren’t available to them, some of the matches were made based on the personalities of the participant and their sponsor. And because opportunities often present themselves when least expected, it’s important to expose impressionable minds to things they may not have thought about before, said volunteer Will Sutton, senior vice president of San Benito Bank.
Sutton said he got involved with the program because someone did the same thing for him in his youth, when he was “running around on the wrong side of the tracks.”
Although the boy Sutton was paired with is interested in auto mechanics, the two meetings Sutton and the 14-year-old have had have gone well, and Sutton has big plans concerning two things any teenage boy is interested in – money and cars.
He plans to discuss the importance of having a savings account, how to set up a checking account, and as a bonus take him to Tiffany Motor Company to show him how they work on cars.
“It’s a great chance to save one kid at a time. It shows them people care beyond more than lip service,” Sutton said. “You never know when opportunities may present themselves – maybe I can get him a job or give him a reference. I don’t know where this road’s going to go, but I know we’ll get to a better place.”
To get involved with the career guidance program contact Capt. Richard Vasquez at the Hollister Police Department at 636-4330, or Lou Bettencourt at the YMCA of San Benito County at 637-8600.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
