CHICAGO (WLS) — Young people are scrambling, as Job Corps centers are shutting down in Chicago and across the country.
The Chicago center that provides education and job placement support to young people is set to shut down with just a few days’ notice, due to a halt in federal funding.
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This closure could prevent hundreds of participants from completing their training, and since most of them reside on the campus, they might also face homelessness.
“These past few years have been challenging for young adults. We’ve all been trying to navigate our path in the world,” expressed Isaac Jules Ray, a carpentry student at the job corps.
The Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center on the city’s Southwest Side has been a source of hope for teens and young adults in desperate need of it.
“I came in looking for a sense of purpose and a sense of direction,” said Cyvon Carey, a job corps carpentry student. “I was just asking for a second chance, you know, something else to do, something better to do. And this opportunity came up.”
The U.S. Department of Labor plans to phase out operations by June 30, and many of the contractors running the center say their services have been terminated.
Some 187 students live there.
The Trump administration says the program was operating at a $140 million deficit last year, is not cost-effective, has a low graduation rate and was not placing participants in stable jobs. But, both staff and students say those claims are not true.
Areeya Mcneil, a nursing assistant student, says she couldn’t disagree more.
“I’m taking my state boards tomorrow,” McNeil said. “I’m ready to get into the working field. I’m ready.”
The center offers students ages 16 to 24 training in various areas, like carpentry, security, pharmacy tech and more.
“I feel almost that this is not real. It’s almost as if, like, in my experience, I’ve been like hit down by society, and, you know, look down upon, you know, why I’ve been homeless before and then I’ve gotten myself back up. And then now, during the second time, because I am completing my trade, actually, I’m completing it next week. We’re able to speed up our process, but the main issue is that I am not going to be right back out next week, couch surfing again,” 23-year-old Brant Ward said.
This also means dozens of staff members could soon be out of jobs.
Their concern remains the students.
“I was really excited to find a trade and everything, but now it’s closing down. It’s going to be so much harder,” 21-year-old pharmacy tech Jennifer Duarte said.
Students said the job corps center not only gave them a sense purpose, but a second chance at a fulfilling career.
“At first, we had till the end of June. Then, we had until June 6, and then they told us June 13, and that was back to June 6 again, and that people have to move out. Some people are homeless,” 21-year-old security program student Jeremiah Brown said.
Jules Ray says he found his place at the job corps center in Little Village in the carpentry program.
“It feels like the opportunity that all of us here took and grasped and put in the hard work to, that’s just being ripped away from us,” Jules Ray said.
Job corps says their student numbers have already started dwindling, from 187 to 134, with the majority having to leave the program by the end of the week.
McNeil says her fellow students have become family. While in the program, she started manicure Mondays and field days.
“I can’t imagine who or where I be before I came, or if I hadn’t come to job corps, because, like I said, I learned a lot about myself, leadership and getting people together,” McNeil said.
For students like Carey, the closures are only serving as motivation to not give up on his dream.
“It allows me to stand proud and keep moving forward because I took pride in what I did and the growth I had,” Carey said.
Job corps say they have been able to get a small extension to June 13 for students who are living at the center.
Job Corps says it’s suing the U.S. Department of Labor over the closures across the country that affect thousands.
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