Detroiters call for Job Corps fund freeze to be lifted

Miami Herald

a day ago

DETROIT - When Michelle Alston's son asked if four of his Job Corps classmates could stay with them because they had nowhere else to go, she didn't hesitate. She learned that students had been sleeping in two cars parked outside of her Detroit home.
"Just come in," she recalled telling them. "Just come in."
Alston recalled the panic she felt when she learned last week that the Job Corps program was facing a funding halt ordered by the Trump administration. The mother of six sons ages 10 to 29 said it has helped one of them, Mikal Alston, 23, turn his life around. After struggling for a year to get him to enroll, she said Mikal finally joined in January, and has remained drug free.
"I need Job Corps to help me with just one," she said.
On Monday, Alston joined State Rep. Joe Tate, Pastor Maurice "Pastor Mo" Hardwick, Job Corps students, parents and community members to urge the Trump administration and Congress to reverse a federal funding freeze they say is impacting young people across the state.
The roundtable held Monday afternoon at Lip Movement Headquarters on Livernois Avenue brought together concerned residents and advocates who warned that the freeze would deny students access to trade training, housing and support services that are essential for helping young people, particularly those from Black, brown and low-income communities, build stable futures.
Tate criticized the action for "breaking families" by freezing Job Corps operations, a program that provides opportunities for young people who might otherwise fall through the cracks. He said Job Corps has helped not only Detroiters but people across the state, including his own brother, who is a program graduate.
"It's something that should be unacceptable," he said. "To put a freeze like that and put all these students and families in turmoil."
Job Corps, started in 1964, gives free training in trades like construction and health care to over 35,000 students a year. Late last month, the U.S. Labor Department said it would pause many Job Corps centers by June 30 due to budget shortfalls and concerns about the program's effectiveness.
According to officials, 217 students were enrolled at the Detroit Job Corps Center on Woodrow Wilson Street when the freeze began. Nineteen were referred to the city for housing assistance. There were 212 students affected at the Grand Rapids center and 147 students impacted in Flint. This includes 120 living in dorms and 60 others waiting to enroll.
Tate said the funds for Job Corps have already been approved by Congress, which is why the issue is currently before a district court judge in New York.
"So I'm hoping the district court judge in New York may rule that they can't take away funding that's already been appropriated by Congress and signed by the president," he said.
Tate said the next step is finding a way to support students who may be displaced from the program.
"We know it's a couple of students right now just in the Job Corps campus here in Detroit," he said. "So how do you find ways to support them, help them to build a foundation after the rug has been pulled from under them with stopping these courses? So there's still an opportunity, there's still light at the end of the tunnel, but I think we need to raise this issue up to make sure that people are hearing this and to tell people this is unacceptable."
Tiffany Davis enrolled her 16-year-old son, Carleton, in Job Corps to give him a better future.
The Detroit teen began training as a cable installer last fall alongside his friend, Camarin Jenkins, 18. But late last week, both were told that federal funding for the program would be cut, leaving their futures uncertain.
"I've been watching kids break down by the droves every day," Davis said. "And as a mom, it's hard to see these kids cry. Not just because they have nowhere to go, but because they've formed bonds and enjoy what they're doing. They know they're held accountable, and that their progress is up to them."
Tiffany Davis said she chose Job Corps because it offered a safe environment where her son could earn a high school diploma and learn a trade. Since joining the program, she said her son has has gained confidence, built strong friendships and bonded with his teachers.
"His confidence is up there," she said. "He has friends - you know. Those are really his brothers. He loves his teachers."
Like Alston's experience, Davis said the disruptions have some of the youth concerned about where they will live. She said she's taken in her son's friend Camarin Jenkins into her home as one of her own.
Carleton Davis admitted he wasn't doing his best when he arrived at the program, but with the support of his friend Jenkins, things began to improve. He said he lost weight and that the program has helped him feel more confident about his job prospects. He said he hopes he can continue to earn his high school diploma through the program.
"I felt like it was a good experience for me in a place I could be more open," he said.
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