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Youth Success Stories
JANUARY, 2010

LA Works, Irwindale, California
 
CollegeWorks Program
Matthew R. (College Works 2009)
Matthew is a senior in high school who receives special education services and has an active IEP.  Matthew has struggled in school from the early years. His father died suddenly 2 years ago and this negatively impacted his grades and academic achievement. He joined College Works the summer of 2009 and participated in our residential college program. He was exposed college life, went to classes, worked and received mentoring. He continues to participate in programming designed to help students under achieving complete high school and move on to post-secondary education.

When Matthew started high school, his grades did not improve very much. He consistently earned D’s or F’s in Algebra. Since returning from the college program he has changed his attitude about school and the possibilities for his future. The first grading period has just ended for the area schools. Matthew has earned an A+ in Algebra and has A’s in all of his classes. Mom states that he is a different person since being in the program. He has more confidence and believes in his own ability to succeed.

CollegeWorks Program
Erik G (College Works 2008)
Erick G is a recent high school graduate who participated in the residential college program. At enrollment he was an active gang member and had a known moniker. He was referred to LA Works by school personnel. They saw his potential and recognized his desire for a change in his life. Eric came to the program reading at a 6th grade level and having math skills at 8th grade.

With his history and academic abilities, he would not have been recognized as college bound. As of October 2009, Erick is a full time college student studying to be an architect. He is working part-time and no longer participates in any gang related activities. He is mentoring younger siblings and cousins to give up the life of gangs and poverty.

California Gang Reduction Initiative Program (CalGRIP)
CalGRIP – Reynaldo P.
Reynaldo P. spent his youth in and out of Juvenile Halls, Camp, and Prison.  When he contacted  LA Works he was unemployed, had no high-school diploma or GED, and was living in  transitional housing in San Dimas with no means to support his two children.  Reynaldo  had been working part-time in the construction industry; however, the construction companies for which he worked were hit hard by the current economic climate and were no longer able to provide Reynaldo with employment.  LA Works enrolled Reynaldo in CalGRIP and placed him in a work experience position with the City of Glendora Public Works Department to provide him with immediate income. 

During our counseling sessions with Reynaldo we learned of his interest in working with the film industry.  With our assistance, Reynaldo enrolled in training provided by Hollywood Cinema Production Resources (“Hollywood CPR”).  Hollywood CPR offers vocational training in the trades and skills required for careers in the Artists, Crafts and Technicians departments of the entertainment industry to primarily underserved and under-represented populations. Additionally, Reynaldo began attending basic skills training through our Mt. SAC Lab in an effort to attain his GED. He worked with the Glendora Public Works Department three days per week and attended classes the other two days.  The Hollywood CPR school is in Los Angeles (near  LAX); Reynaldo commuted to class via the Metro link and bus system 3 days per week, arriving to school 1 hour early every day of his training.  As you can imagine, this took a tremendous amount of commitment and determination on Reynaldo’s part.  He persevered, and took great pride when he walked in his cap and gown at the graduation for Mt. San Antonio College. 

Since then Reynaldo has completed the Hollywood CPR courses and is currently working on the sets of two TV shows on CBS:  CSI Miami and the Mentalist. Reynaldo is currently earning $30/hour ($50/hour in overtime pay) and is working up to 80 hours per week.  His counselor recently spoke with him about his experience while enrolled in the CalGRIP program. Reynaldo spoke of the time he made a plumbing repair at the Glendora Police station as part of his work experience assignment; it was the first time he had been in a police station without wearing hand cuffs.   He expressed his gratitude to LA Works for being given what he refers to as a life-changing opportunity.  He is so very proud of his work, his accomplishments and the fact that he is now able to provide for his two children. 

 

At-Risk Out-of-School Youth
Matthew F.
Matt came to LA Works very shy and could not speak in a group setting. We knew right away that Matt would not even come close to passing a job interview based on his poor communication skills. However, the positive skills Matt brought were hard work and great attendance. LA Works knew we found a “diamond in the rough” in Matt. Great kid, great worker who was motivated and was always at work on time, but could not put two sentences together. We realized that Matt needed to build his confidence so we started Matt in our Home Improvement work program and he flourished. It appeared that all of the things that Matt could not express verbally, he was expressing physically through his work performance. Matt just blossomed under a supervisor who taught him step by step. Matt was installing windows, painting houses, building fences and laying down bathroom and kitchen tile. When it came time to find Matt a job, LA Works knew a staff member needed to accompany Matt inside the interview, but we did not know how the employer would feel about that. After obtaining permission, our staff member went to the interview with Matt and did all the talking. The employer saw something special in Matt and offered him the job. Years later, Matt is still working there and has been promoted. LA Works can make all the difference in the world for some people and in this case we did for Matt.

At-Risk Out-of-School Youth
Jose S.

Jose’s world was shattered at the age of seven. At this young age Jose was told that his father had just been killed and that his murder was an unsolved mystery. Jose carried this pain through elementary school until Jr. High school. Jose’s mother decided it was too much work to raise her kids and abandoned Jose. At the age of thirteen Jose’s feeling of pain changed to feeling numb. When Jose arrived at LA Works, even though Jose was twenty years old on the outside, Jose had the maturity level of a ten year old. There were numerous days of just getting to know Jose better. There were numerous days of job training and schooling. Most importantly there were numerous days of confrontation: confronting his bad habits, use of bad language and his “I don’t care” attitude. But LA Works noticed something about Jose… that he liked the attention and even though he would not admit it, he was listening. Jose has come a long way. Jose said the first thing he used to say every morning when he woke up was the “F” word, because he knew that was the kind of day he would have. Now, as Jose is completing his work program he said he wakes up with a smile on his face. He appreciates his aunt and uncle that took him in; and, he now appreciates LA Works for seeing something in him that he did not see. It is unfortunate his mom and dad were not around to see the man Jose has become and how he continues to grow and flourish. Jose’s aunt and uncle and LA Works will be there to watch him continue on his road to success.