Out-of-School Time Workforce Development Program Teaching Our Youth the Value of Job Readiness and Employment Retenti

1. Out-of-School Time Workforce Development Program Teaching Our Youth the Value of Job Readiness and Employment Retention 4105 1st Street, SE Washington, DC 20032 202-373-5767 www.ercpcp.org

2. ERCPCP, Inc. Mission Statement We intend to provide skills training and an employment pathway for youth in the Washington Highlands, Benning Terrace, and Woodland Terrace communities. It is the mission to prepare the community’s youth for successful transition to the workplace.

3. ERCPCP Workforce Development VisionStatement • To create youth development, attitude and behaviors that will promote positive actions and reduce negative or illegal behavior. •  To provide strong business connections and employment funnels with community businesses and organizations. •  To provide skill development in literacy, competence, work readiness, and social skills. •  To evaluate awareness and sensitivity in youth around sexism, racism, violence, discrimination and ageism •  To assist in the development of effective communication skills, conflict resolution strategies, negotiation tools, and violence reduction plans •  To provide opportunities to serve others

4. Workforce Development Community History The employment rate in the communities of Woodland Terrace, Washington, Highlands, and Benning Terrace are shockingly high. The average young person is unemployed and does not graduate from high school. ERCPCP has implemented the Workforce Development program to aid in changing this phenomenon into a community of youth capable of sustaining themselves successfully in the workplace.

5. Service Population • Ages 14-24 years of age • Unemployed and employed young adults • Adjudicated youth and young adults • Low-income youth and families • Residents of Washington Highlands, Woodland Terrace, and Benning Terrace

6. Service Population Washington DC Wards 7 and 8 In Ward 7 & 8, thirty-three percent of the population lives in poverty and seventy-eight percent of the babies are born to unemployed single mothers. The major health challenges are death from HIV/AIDS, heart disease, and homicide. All of the above have created a mental expectation of poverty for generations. In the past ten years, seventy-five percent (75%) of Washington, D.C.’s homicides occur East of the River. Wash. Post, S. Weichselbaum,7/24/03; Metro Police Department Public Information 2005; African American Newspaper, Getting Away with Murder 2005; DC Police Crime Statistics 2007

7. Service Population • Service Population includes youth who are in school and at-risk unemployed. Both categories of youth benefit from the services implemented at in the program. • Because of our service area we serve youth who are traditionally unemployed, under-educated, and possibly adjudicated. Single-parent households are common amongst our youth also. • The youth roster ranges from age 14 to 24 years old. This population requires a constructive means of self-expression and guided personal growth in order to master the tools to develop into a productive contributing member of society.

8. Workforce Development Program Activity • After School Program at Recreation Center • Job Readiness (Career Development) Instruction • Life Skills Instruction • Violence Intervention • Health and Nutrition • Character and Leadership Development • Mock Interviews • Financial Literacy • Group Discussions • Goal Setting and Planning

9. Goal Setting and Planning Workshop Instruction Components

10. Out-of-School Time Workforce Development Program Kymberleighe Richardson Program Manager 202-373-5767 office 443-858-9784 mobile krichardson@ercpcp.org Glenn Witherspoon Community Outreach Specialist 202-373-5767 office witherspoonglenn@yahoo.com