Job Training for Youth at Risk of Gun Violence

CWE and community partners are training and placing at-risk young people into career-track jobs.

Last year, the Governor’s office declared a first-in-the-nation gun violence disaster emergency in New York. Gun violence is concentrated in neighborhoods that have faced decades of disinvestment. To provide young people in New York City communities with pathways away from gun violence and toward viable employment and career opportunities, CWE partnered with the New York State Department of Labor to create the CWE Young Adult Gun Violence Prevention Program.

The program is open to unemployed, underemployed, and out-of-school youths aged 18-24 residing in areas affected by high rates of gun violence. Click here for a list of qualifying zip codes.

For the initiative, CWE is working with long-time and new community partners, including faith-based organizations and violence interrupters who help New Yorkers most at risk of becoming involved in gun violence.

The CWE Young Adult Gun Violence Prevention Program is helping these young workers identify education gaps, learn basic job-readiness skills, and plan an initial set of activities to improve their employability. Participants get no-cost referrals for housing support, substance abuse counseling, and assistance applying for public benefits.

The young people select an occupation that interests them and are connected to training, including courses that provide credentials and building trades pre-apprenticeship preparation. CWE partners engage with employers to place participants into jobs in growing industries, including transportation, hospitality, construction, technology, and healthcare.

To help at-risk young people learn about this program, please share this flier with your networks. Apply here.