by Dianne Anderson

Summer action at local parks for the kids will keep parents happy, but happier still, there seems to be enough work to keep their high school teens productive and paid well into the next school year.

For parents not quite ready to splurge $100 or more per week per child to enjoy summer camp, they may want to check out free activities or access scholarships through Long Beach Parks and Recreation.

Jane Grobaty, spokesperson for the city’s Parks, Recreation and Marine Department, said they will have to move fast.

“Very fast, like within minutes sometimes,” she said. “People jump online and do it, but we do have the capacity for people that don’t have a personal computer to come in person.”

Staff are assigned to answer questions or provide devices at a self-serve enrollment location for those who need help. Each of the summer camps has dozens of children and they reach capacity quickly.

“If you’re going to do that, you better be there before 9:00 a.m., be in line and ready to go,” she said. “There’s only so many parks and so many staff, for it to be a good experience for the kids.”

Other summer events are free, including summer fun days, and the city has a mobile recreation vehicle that will go out. Parents are invited to choose and call the park and camps directly that they want to attend. Availability and criteria will vary at each location.

“We’re all excited, we’re going crazy right now getting information together and planning publications. The day camp enrollment is April 13. We’re all very busy with it,” she said.

For teens and youth, work opportunities are expanding through the rebranded Youth Work Opportunity Center, now known as Future Long Beach.

With the new space, students and teens seeking paid job training or internships can drop into the center where there are many entry-level jobs available, including retail, customer childcare, maintenance positions, housekeeping, food and beverage at restaurants.

Last week, the city’s health department, the Office of Youth Development, the Department of Economic Development Workforce Development Bureau, and Pacific Gateway Workforce Innovation Network teamed up in partnership with the April Parker Foundation to launch the Futures First initiative.

The kickoff was held at the FutureLB, located at 508 W. Willow St., where youth aged 16 to 24, who are not currently working or in school can access an array of holistic life skills, and career navigation services.

“It is important to recognize the various pathways to success,” said Mayor Rex Richardson in a statement. “We want to help young people co-create their destinies by offering training in life skills, career development initiatives, and educational networking opportunities.’’

The city reports that nearly one-fifth of youth from 16-24 years do not attend school or work, and that in 2021, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation granted Long Beach a combined $3 million through the Opportunity Youth Grant to start the Futures First initiative.

Reza Perl said numerous other work opportunities are available, and that youth can come into the center throughout the week to get help finding a job.

“We are helping hundreds of youth every month. We have 600 people working right now,” said Perl, Youth Program Specialist at Pacific Gateway.

More businesses need help during the summer, and there is more availability of young people on vacation, but he said the job programs also continue when school is in session.

Typically, youth enter the working world through the service sector, where the program offers a lot of entry-level work experience, but he said the goal is to get them habituated to work, and from there, to pursue bigger goals. Their program, which serves as young as 14 years, starts at $16.90 an hour.

In all of their programs, they try not to turn anyone away. If they are unable to serve some, he said they provide help in other areas, such as resumes and applying for jobs. If teens and youth are interested in working and have transportation during high school, they can access work opportunities throughout the school year.

“Schools get out at 3:30 here, it’s a little tough, but we still manage with people working outside school hours,” he said. “Young people, some are doing 5-10 hours a week, some are doing 20 hours a week.”

Through the Long Beach Youth Opportunity Center, he said they are also offering up to 400 hours of paid work experience and training for youth between the ages of 16 to 30 years.

“We have a great place here in Long Beach. We’re really lucky and we have a lot of young people who are happy to be here,” he said.

For more information:

On Summer Day Camps, see
https://www.longbeach.gov/park/recreation-programs/programs-and-classes/teen-centers/summer-camps

For Futures First LB, see www.futuresfirstlb.com http://www.futuresfirstlb.com/