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JPMorgan Chase & Co. Commits $1.3 Million to Put Houston’s Disconnected Youth on Track for College and Career Success

HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES — JPMorgan Chase & Co. has committed $1.3 million to help Houston area’s disconnected youth.

Published

6 years ago

February 23, 2019

By Forward Times Staff

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has committed $1.3 million to help Houston area’s disconnected youth – which includes more than 111,000 local young people aged 16 to 24 who are not employed or enrolled in school – access the education and skills they need to succeed.

Educate Texas at Communities Foundation of Texas is leading the innovative Bridge to College and Career Success pilot initiative with national partner Jobs For the Future (JFF) as the technical assistance provider. The initiative will re-engage disconnected youth into local, high growth career pathways such as healthcare, advanced manufacturing and construction. The partnerships will guide youth and young adults as they prepare for workforce training and community college, monitor their progress and provide additional necessary support so they are able to graduate.

The effort also got a $250,000 commitment from the Trellis Foundation, which has helped Texas students and families pursue their educational and career dreams for 40 years.

“This generous investment will help provide a future to many young Houstonians who work hard, despite life’s many challenges, by giving them the guidance and support they need to complete their education and discover meaningful career opportunities,” said Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis.

The success of these disconnected young people is critical to Houston’s economic growth. The cost of inaction to support this population could be as much as $30 billion.

“This is a moral and economic crisis. Without the right skills or education, young people are stuck in low-skills, low-wage jobs or unemployed and employers lack the skilled workers they need to support Houston’s economy. Here in Houston, we’re investing in high-quality, career-focused education programs so that more young people have a real shot at a better life for themselves and their families,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

There are an estimated 480,000 disconnected youth across Texas, with almost one in four living in the Gulf Coast region.

According to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, more than half of all jobs in Houston require some education beyond high school.

Helping Houston’s disconnected youth overcome barriers such as poverty and parenting responsibilities requires a variety of innovative approaches. Each of the four partnerships supported by these investments designed creative and youth-centered solutions to help young adults make their way back to education and employment in Houston’s growing industries. The four partnerships include:

Capital IDEA, in partnership with Houston Community College Southeast, developed the “Career My Way” program, which emphasizes self-discovery, career exploration and academic preparation in the following employment sectors: Healthcare, Advanced Manufacturing, Commercial and Industrial Construction, Ports and Maritime, among others.
Project GRAD, in partnership with the Houston Community College System, is introducing “GRADcafé on the GO”, a mobile advising center that helps Houstonians get into and complete college and career training, focusing on neighborhoods with high concentrations of disconnected youth.
SERJobs, with its employer partners Gutier Construction and Marek Bros., is serving as the “employer of record” for paid internships and work-based learning; employers are involved in curriculum design, ongoing mentorship and leadership development.
Baylor Teen Health Clinic, in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine, established the Ascend Program to help meet the high demand for middle-skill employees at the Texas Medical Center by recruiting and training young adults who come to the clinics for health services. This initiative will greatly expand that effort to place these young people in entry- and middle-skills jobs with the promise of career advancement.

This article originally appeared in the Houston Forward Times.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge Biden to Use Clemency Power to Address Mass Incarceration Before Leaving Office

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country.

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Read the letter here.

Watch the press conference here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.

The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter. A full video of their press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

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Tennessee State University Set to Debut the First Division I Hockey Team at An HBCU

THE AFRO — “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Duanté Abercrombie, the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team, in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

admin

By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.

TSU held an official press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26. On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team.

“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League.

After his career as a professional hockey player, Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School. In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.

On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.

In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko. In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.

“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”