Justice = Jobs: YEP, an Oakland Org, Prepares Youth for Careers, Education Access

Edward Henderson | Impact Alameda

Oakland’s reputation in American political history is synonymous with raised-fist, steel-spined Black Power activism.

At the geographic heart of Oakland, on International Boulevard, is an organization called the Youth Employment Partnership (YEP). Its mission lines up with that strain of power-to-the-people advocacy the largest city on the East side of the San Francisco Bay is known for. The leaders at YEP say their organization aims to embody the spirit of the city whose youth they serve.

YEP’s headquarters is a warehouse purchased in 2001 with cash that was an allotment from a lawsuit settlement. The suit accused California of spending more on incarcerating youth than the prevention of delinquency.

Today, YEP serves the community as an incubator for job training and education for youth who have are overcoming obstacles in their lives.

“Everything here is built by our young people,” said Michele Clark, Executive Director of YEP.

Clark says she rejects, “that whole concept of having kids and young adults of color being treated like they are not assets to our community.”

“We really feature them as asset builders,” she continued. “Those kinds of things build confidence”

Under YEP’s guidance, the youth working in the warehouse designed and renovated a section of the space every two years for 10 years. Now, their headquarters hosts classes equipping the young people with skills like forklift operation and the culinary arts. It also has a school where high schoolers can earn their diploma and a section in the back with a small community of tiny houses.

“It’s always just a quest of what training can we offer our community that knock out lifelong barriers. High school and other emotional trauma issues, probation, parole, all of those things we get young people to build on and not be depressed by,” said Clark.

YEP was founded in 1973 by a group of teachers from St. Elizabeth High School, along with Dennis Chaconas, who later became Superintendent of Oakland Unified School District. Their goal was to address learning-loss and provide children with engaging and character-building activities over the summer.

The early success the founders had with programs that helped youth succeed at school and jobs led to the organization’s expansion. In 1989, they unaffiliated with St. Elizabeth to continue growing and to extend their work beyond providing summer jobs and offering summer education. In 1991, they officially became The Youth Employment Partnership, Inc.

YEP serves 500 youth and young adults each year. To date, the organization says their alum have earned over $900,000 in wages and incentives; 34,000 trainees have received workforce training and development services; and 80% of trainees benefit from employment or advance education placement.

While the pandemic put a temporary hold on their progress, the organization found ways to adapt, innovate and continue inspiring the young creative minds they serve. Sixty days after the initial shutdown, YEP was able to bring 60% of participants back on site with proper distancing and ventilation in the warehouse. Students prepared meals for the homeless, continued classes and constructed 10 tiny houses in the back of the facility to help house youth who needed a place to stay. As warehouse training became a highly demanded skill during the pandemic, YEP was able to provide more youth with certifications that led to jobs.

“Seeing the tiny homes we’ve built all together and ready for somebody to live in them was my most memorable moment at YEP,” said Christian Gonzales, 17. “It made me feel excited because we put a lot of work and learning into it. The final product felt great to see. I’ve also been hired by the contractor that YEP has hired. It has helped me develop new skills and prepare me for jobs in the future.”

Along with the work training aspect of YEP, education stands as a core pillar to their philosophy of youth development. Tiara Shaw, 18, was recommended to the program by a friend and was inspired by the possibilities that YEP had to offer her.

“With everything that’s been going on with the pandemic and balancing school I started falling off in my senior year,” said Shaw. “I ended up not graduating with everyone else. I wanted to get my GED at least. But then I found out about YEP and that I could get my diploma. It became way more than I thought than just a diploma.”

Joshua Norman, 19, lived down the street from YEP headquarters and was always aware of the work they did. Norman decided to take advantage of YEP’s services when his sister encouraged him to take a leap of faith and try to overcome the challenges in his life with their help.

“The staff are really personable, and I get a lot of help from them. They always have good feedback and actually care about your progress. It’s the people here who make it fun. When I was going through stuff at home and I needed somebody to talk to, I could talk to the staff and have someone understand — besides just being at work,” he said. “If you come here, just know that there are people here to help you and don’t take the chance for granted. Use the opportunity wisely and stay focused on your craft.”

Shaw agrees that youth engaging with YEP and the services they provide have an array of options and resources at their disposal. However, she also believes that the responsibility still lies with them to take advantage of everything.

“YEP is a stepping stone to get where you want to go in life. It’s not there to take you all the way, but it’s there to take you to somewhere, and you make the decisions to go further and do what you want to do,” she says. “There’s not a lot of places that will do this for the youth.”

To learn more about YEP and how to get involved, visit www.yep.org