Latino families transition from unemployment to work

June 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment


By

Araceli Martínez Ortega | La Opinión (text)
Brian Watt | KPCC (audio)
Maya Sugarman | KPCC (photo)

This story is available in Spanish here.

This article was produced for Watts Revisited, a multimedia project launched by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism that explores challenges facing South L.A. as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Watts Riots. Learn more at www.wattsrevisited.com.

David Williams, who works at Homeboy Industries, fills out paperwork to enroll in a seven-week construction course at Los Angeles Trade Tech College on Monday, April 1, 2015. The class is put on by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations in partnership with LATTC. | Photo by Maya Sugarman for KPCC

David Williams, who works at Homeboy Industries, fills out paperwork to enroll in a seven-week construction course at Los Angeles Trade Tech College on Monday, April 1, 2015. The class is put on by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations in partnership with LATTC. | Photo by Maya Sugarman for KPCC

Last September, Abigail Flores arrived heartsick at the WorkSource Center, a work placement agency in South Central Los Angeles. She had spent at least seven months unemployed, depending upon public assistance to support her three young children.

“What I encountered here was beautiful. They helped me in everything. The work that they found for me was at a Dollar Tree shop. Then the hours were decreased. Once again they found me another job in a hamburger restaurant where I made minimum wage,” said Flores, a resident of South Los Angeles and a 34-year-old single mother. Her children are 6, 7, and 14 years old.

At the same time that Flores returned to the labor force, and to be able to provide for her family, the WorkSource Center, located inside LA Trade Tech College at Vernon-Central, began to provide her with training in the hotel industry.

With these new skills, Abigail will be able to make a transition to full-time work with a better salary and benefits. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Education, Featured, Featured Story, South Central LA, Watts Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

South LA applies for Promise Zone grant

November 21, 2014 By Leave a Comment


By JT Arowosaye

The proposed Promise Zone for South L.A. shaded in light blue. The current Promise Zone is shaded in gray. | Photo: Courtesy Los Angeles Trade-Technical College

The proposed Promise Zone for South L.A. shaded in light blue. The current Promise Zone is shaded in gray. | Photo: Courtesy Los Angeles Trade-Technical College

A coalition led by a South Los Angeles college submitted a key application Thursday for the “Promise Zone” initiative that would give South L.A.  priority in federal funding for anti-poverty programs.

“This project brings together everybody with a very common purpose which is … the economic revitalization of this area through increased opportunities,” said Leticia Barajas, Vice President of the L.A. Trade-Technical College.

The program, created by President Obama in 2013, named five Los Angeles neighborhoods as “promise zones” in 2014. South L.A. was left out, to the disappointment of the Los Angeles City Council and community members.

The coalition hopes to become a designated area for federal help because the poverty rate in the region is close to 50 percent and the unemployment rate is 12 percent.

The college-led coalition formed a group called the South Los Angeles Transit Empowerment Zone (SLATE-Z). The SLATE-Z group would invest in transit centers, educational programs, businesses, and South L.A. redevelopment. The City Council and L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who represents the area, support the application.

Originally published on Annenberg TV News.

Filed Under: Community, More on Intersections, Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,