Youth Programs

HIRE LA

HIRE LA focuses on preparing young adults for the 21st Century workforce. It is designed to provide a starter job for youth ages ages 14-24. HIRE LA is funded by multiple sources and used to provide work experience, as well as work skills development, financial literacy, career coaching and mentoring, and career exposure. HIRE LA programming provides youth with the preparedness needed to enter the workforce and sets them on a path of becoming lifetime earners.

Angeleno Corps

Angeleno Corps is a 10-month program that provides 18- to 30-year-olds with the opportunity to gain work experience through service learning, pursue their education, and receive a $1,000 monthly stipend. 350 participants complete their service at a community-based organization in one of six areas: Education and Child Care; Health, Climate, and Environmental Justice; Immigration Assistance; Nutrition and Food Justice; Technology and Digital Assistance; and Housing Rights Advocacy. 50+ community-based organizations will host Corps members and provide direct work experience and supervision at their worksites. Angeleno Corps members must also be enrolled full-time in a post-secondary program. Each participant receives individualized mentorship, professional development training, and wraparound services from the City’s YouthSource Centers.

• Partners: Mayor’s Office [Lead Agency], City of Los Angeles YouthSource Centers, 50+ Community Based Organizations
• Focus Area: Public Service

Student to Student

The Student to Student Success program offers compensation, skills training, and career exploration to 400 high school students who provide academic support to younger students in their household or at a nearby elementary school. Developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, S2S aims to support learning and academic achievement in high-need households and underserved communities, while simultaneously connecting youth tutors with paid work experience. The youth tutors can work up to a maximum of 140 hours at $17.27/hour, entailing 20 hours of job skills and professional development training and up to 120 hours of direct academic support over one semester. Each S2S tutor will work directly with at least one younger student living in the same household after school and/or on weekends, or will work in-person at a nearby elementary school supporting afterschool programs.

• Partners: Mayor’s Office [Lead Agency], Los Angeles Unified School District, City of Los Angeles YouthSource Centers, LA’s BEST
• Focus Area: Education

LA:RISE Youth Academy

The Los Angeles Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise (LA:RISE) Youth Academy is a 250-hour work experience program focused on improvising housing, education, and employment outcomes for unhoused or housing-insecure Angelenos between the ages of 18-30. Through the Youth Academy, every participant will be linked to housing, education, employment, and social well-being services to move them into a future of self-sufficiency and economic mobility. One hundred and twenty-five (150) participants will have the opportunity to earn $17.27 an hour (up to $4,195 over the six-month program), via transitional employment at participating social enterprises. Placement sites include retail, social services, afterschool programs, facilities maintenance, information technology, education, entertainment, and the culinary field.

• Partners: Economic and Workforce Development Department (Lead Agency), Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF), City of Los Angeles YouthSource Centers, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Goodwill Industries, Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD)
• Focus Area: Other - Housing Security

City Pathways

The L.A. City Pathways program is an internship program designed to provide 50 college students with invaluable exposure to a wide range of career opportunities available in the City of Los Angeles. Participants not only earn a competitive wage of $17.27, but also have the privilege of working closely with experienced City employees who serve as their mentors. This immersive program provides students with up to 850 paid work hours to support the operations of various departments through administration, project management, community engagement, and communications. Past placements sites have included the Mayor’s Office, Economic and Workforce Development Department, Board of Public Works, Public Library, City Attorney’s Office, and Information and Technology Agency.

• Partners: Mayor’s Office [Lead Agency], Los Angeles Community College District, City of Los Angeles YouthSource Centers, Various L.A. City and L.A. County Departments, Local Colleges and Universities
• Focus Area: Public Service

City Pathways for Youth

The City Pathways for Youth program provides 75 young people between the ages of 16-30 years old with the opportunity to learn about careers in the City of Los Angeles’ Recreation and Parks Department. Interns are placed at recreation centers and park sites across the city, working alongside recreational and maintenance professionals to create a welcoming environment for the local community. They receive hands-on training and supervision to support afterschool programs, sports/recreation programs, and other community engagement activities. Participants earn $17.27 an hour and can work up to 750 hours under a flexible, part-time schedule. The program also serves as an entryway into City employment for youth interested in public service.

• Partners: Recreation and Parks Department [Lead Agency], Los Angeles Unified School District
• Focus Area: Public Service

L.A. River Rangers

L.A. River Rangers provides a 12-month, full-time work opportunity to 50 young Angelenos with an interest in cleaning, beautifying, and maintaining public areas along the Los Angeles River. Angelenos between the ages of 18-26 are eligible to participate and earn $18 an hour. Multiple work crews are assigned to conduct critical maintenance and operation services for a specific stretch of the LA River’s public spaces, in addition to facilities management and community engagement. Each participant will work alongside a supervisor to carry out various maintenance needs such as native plant care, pavement and path care, and removal of trash and other nuisances. At the conclusion of their time with the program, participants can access employment opportunities with agencies that maintain the LA River.

• Partners: Board of Public Works [Lead Agency], Los Angeles Conservation Corps
• Focus Area: Climate

Clean L.A.

Clean L.A. is a 12-month, full-time employment program for 50 young adults between the ages of 18-30 to help clean and green the City of Los Angeles as a pathway to a full-time career. The program focuses on employing job-seeking Angelenos to perform community beautification and street clean-up services in areas of the city with the greatest need. Work responsibilities include, but are not limited to: weed abatement, cleaning/removing loose litter, and clearing bulky items from the public right-of-way. Participants earn a wage of $18 an hour with benefits as full-time employees. Past program graduates have been successfully hired as maintenance laborers with the City’s Bureau of Sanitation and Bureau of Street Services as a pathway to city employment.

• Partners: Board of Public Works [Lead Agency], Economic and Workforce Development Department, City of Los Angeles YouthSource Centers, Coalition for Responsible Community Development, Koreatown Youth and Community Center, New Directions For Youth, Northeast Graffiti Busters
• Focus Area: Climate

Summer Night Lights

The Summer Night Lights Expansion program will hire 80 young people ages 16-24 to coordinate activities at 11 City parks and recreation centers with extended hours to provide youth and families with fun gathering spaces during the summer months. The program aims to provide a safe, welcoming environment in neighborhoods impacted by gang-related violence through extended recreation programming, meals, community activities, employment opportunities, and other resources. SNL interns live within the surrounding community and work with City employees to create programming that addresses the needs and interests of local residents. Participants work 16-40 hours a week, for up to 560 hours total, and earn the City’s minimum wage of $18.00 an hour.

• Partners: Mayor's Office/Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) [Lead Agency], Recreation and Parks Department [Lead Agency], Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles
• Focus Area: Public Service

Youth & Community Harvest Internship Program

The Youth & Community Harvest Program offers work experience and professional development to youth and young adults, ages 16 to 30, who are passionate about addressing the issue of food insecurity. This program provides a bi-weekly stipend of $480 for a maximum of 200 hours of internship service with community-based organizations that lead urban farms, community gardens, and farmers markets in under-resourced neighborhoods. A total of 42 participants will explore career pathways in urban farming, nutrition, and sustainability while gaining exposure to the principles of food waste diversion, composting, and community engagement.

• Partners: Mayor’s Office [Lead Agency], El Proyecto del Barrio, Goodwill Industries, Brotherhood Crusade, Watts Labor Community Action Committee
• Focus Area: Food Insecurity

Early Childhood Education Student Advancement Project

The Early Childhood Education Student Advancement Program is an internship and mentorship program for students enrolled in a post-secondary educational institution majoring in the child development (or closely related) field. Two hundred (200) students between the ages of 18-30 will receive training in child behavior and psychology, communication, and problem-solving, along with one-on-one mentorship support and leadership development. Participants will be paid a wage of $17.27 per hour over a combined total average of 130 hours of paid work experience and training/mentorship. Students can also participate in the ECE Co-generational Connection Program (ECE-CCPro) that connects them with mentors using a Sesame Street-inspired curriculum. Students working with infants and toddlers receive a financial award of $750, while those working with preschoolers will receive $500.

• Partners: Mayor’s Office [Lead Agency], Los Angeles Community College District, Los Angeles Unified School District, City of Los Angeles YouthSource Centers, First 5 LA, Child Development Consortium of Los Angeles, California Children’s Academy, Pathways LA, Sesame Workshop Alumni Network
• Focus Area: Education

Teen Parent Prosper Project

The Teen Parent Prosper Program provides part-time employment to 25 pregnant or parenting teens (ages 16-19), combining work experience through the City’s YouthSource Centers and wraparound services through the City’s FamilySource Centers. Participants will receive paid work experience and enhancement services for 600 hours of job training and work experience). Participants will be paid the City minimum wage of $17.27 an hour and will be offered a variety of Youth Service Corps internships, including but not limited to customer service at the FamilySource Centers. Supportive services include child care assistance to support employment, financial literacy education, and parenting and child development workshops. The program also leverages existing city-funded programming that connects young parents to educational opportunities, such as earning a high school diploma or enrolling in college or a certificate program.

• Partners: Community Investment for Families Department [Lead Agency], City of Los Angeles FamilySource Centers, City of Los Angeles YouthSource Centers
• Focus Area: Other - Parenting Youth

L.A. Community Composting and Food Recovery

Designed as part of SB 1383, L.A. Community Composting and Food Recovery is a 800-hour job program that will hire Angelenos between 18-26 years old to maintain community composting sites and gardens, manage surplus food and food scraps, and prevent edible food from becoming waste. Participants are paid $17.50 an hour and trained in compost and soil management, native plants and species, OSHA 10, CPR/first aid, and other job readiness skills. Work crews support local food banks and food suppliers to deliver edible food to households facing food insecurity, diverting thousands of pounds of food waste from landfills as a result. This program provides hands-on skills development in an outdoor setting and offers opportunities to gain career certifications in the sustainability/green jobs sector.

Digital Ambassadors

Digital Ambassadors are HACLA resident leaders between the ages of 18-30 who support their communities in addressing the digital divide. 42 participants are paid $20.00 an hour to assist low-income and senior households with acquiring low-cost internet or digital devices and navigating online resources such as virtual learning, employment opportunities, and telehealth services. Digital Ambassadors complete a minimum of 120 hours training and 280 hours of work experience over six months, and Lead Ambassadors will have the opportunity to work part-time (500+ hours) for a full year. They are trained on community outreach and customer service before being deployed to develop group and individual engagements for HACLA residents and local small businesses.

• Partners: Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles [Lead Agency], City of Los Angeles Department of Aging, FCC Affordable Connectivity Program, Vermont Slauson CDC, Legacy LA
• Focus Area: Other - Digital Access

Certified Peer Specialist Demonstration Project

Participants are trained to provide peer mental health support through the City’s YouthSource Center system. Training is on a state-certified curriculum in preparation for entry into MediCal reimbursable career pathway.

Small Business Corp

A collaborative effort between the City’s YouthSource Center and BusinessSource Center systems that provides LA Community College District students with internships in their field of study while supporting small business owners with marketing, accounting, and related business support.

Student Engagement, Exploration, and Development in STEM (SEEDS)

A public-private partnership between City departments and the University of Southern California that employs low-income STEM students from local colleges to provide mentorship support, academic assistance, and hands-on enrichment activities at the USC campus, and remotely, to underserved elementary school students.