Latest news with #Kary
Boston Globe
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Thousands of homeless students left in the lurch after Job Center closures put on hold
'That was how I was able to escape homelessness,' Kary added. 'My whole life has been defined by loss and poverty and just living on the most precarious knife edge.' Job Corps is a federally funded program for young people between the ages of 16 and 24 that provides free housing, meals, basic medical care, school supplies, childcare, English language instruction, and a small allowance while students earn high school equivalency degrees and trade certifications. The National Job Corps Association sued the DOL shortly after the announcement alleging the department's order to pause the program was illegal because only Congress can eliminate the program and because it would displace thousands of students and lead to mass layoffs. In June, a US District Court judge for the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction against the DOL, effectively halting the DOL's order indefinitely and allowing Job Corps's 123 centers to remain operational. But Kary and the approximately 4,500 other students nationwide who were homeless before joining the program's living and learning spaces are still at risk of displacement. Advertisement As part of its fiscal 2026 budget, the DOL has proposed eviscerating Job Corps, allocating it a fraction of its typical funding for the purpose of closing and demolishing the centers. Congress is expected to begin voting on the proposed budget in September, though it can take months to pass. Advertisement Labor experts in Massachusetts say the state's workforce development system is not designed for a shake-up that would displace many of the 799 students who were enrolled at three centers in Massachusetts in May. 'Whenever we need to put students somewhere, Job Corps is front and center,' Jeffrey Turgeon, director of MassHire Central, said. 'We're losing a major tool.' After the meeting announcing its closure, the Shriver Job Corps Center told students it would remain operational for the time being. Yet, a majority of students who lived at the center left the Shriver Center, opting to find alternative housing in the face of the center's day-to-day uncertainty. After investing months into diplomas and career certificates, students feel mixed emotions about what will come next for them. Kary worries about leaving empty-handed if the court eventually rules that the centers must close, or Congress approves funding cuts to the Job Corps. She started her training program to work in public transportation, which she said typically takes one year to complete, just a week before the DOL order. 'As nice as it is, it still feels uncertain,' Kary said. 'It's a race against the preliminary injunction and the government.' Mohammad Niazy, 18, and Matiullah Kabir, 19, discovered a near-empty cafeteria when they arrived at the Shriver Center for class earlier this month. The two commute to campus from Harvard, MA, where Advertisement Niazy earned his high school diploma from the center in May. Kabir, who had already graduated from his local high school, studied computer technology at Shriver, where he started a football team and received his driver's license. He said he was shocked when he learned that DOL ordered a pause in operations. 'It was so fast, people were not ready for this. A lot of people were living there and working. They were definitely crying, they were saying, 'Where do we go now?'' Kabir said. Facing potential Job Corps closures, students can apply for state-run high school equivalency degrees and vocational training programs, paid apprenticeships, or community college, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD). Governor Maura Healey's housing office had also been developing a contingency plan for displaced students leading up to the preliminary injunction, spokesperson Tara Smith said in an email to the Globe last month. 'Until the lawsuit is resolved, we continue to monitor the situation with EOLWD and other state agencies as it relates to potential next steps with affected students,' Smith added. Until joining Job Corps, Kary, who asked to be identified by her first name because she fears harassment by the government as a transgender woman, was in and out of homelessness. She was kicked out of her childhood home by her family when she turned 18. She crashed on friends' couches and waited in line at food banks for meals. She eventually got a job as a cashier earning $9 an hour, but it was nowhere near enough to make ends meet. Advertisement For four months in the winter of 2022, Kary slept every night in a tent — even in the pouring rain and freezing temperatures. When a friend told Kary about Job Corps's residential program, she applied as soon as she could. 'Job Corps was my only hope,' she said. The DOL says it wants to end the program because it is not achieving its including the 38.6 percent graduation rate it cited in its justification for pausing the program, which comes from the 2023 program year, reflect high dropout rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Local politicians in Massachusetts are concerned about the impact shuttering the program would have on their communities. 'The reality is a program like this, which no doubt costs millions of dollars just for the Devens center, is that it's not going to be replaced,' Massachusetts State Senator Jamie Eldridge, whose district includes Shriver, said. In 'Massachusetts industries obviously depend on the kind of technical training the Job Corps provides,' Congresswoman Lori Trahan, whose district also covers Shriver, said. Kary worries that she will not be hired for a job without her trade certification. She does not want to go to a shelter for fear of harassment but no other training programs offer housing. Yet when she thinks about the future, she imagines a quiet life working as a train conductor, a career that she became passionate about while studying at Shriver. Advertisement Kary has one more non-negotiable. She has to live in Massachusetts. 'I love Massachusetts. I'd fully crawl my way out of homelessness and then be in Massachusetts,' said Kary. 'This place is end goal for me.' Jade Lozada can be reached at
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Roanoke man living with ALS is on a mission to help others
ROANOKE, VA (WFXR) — A Roanoke man living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is working to spread awareness and understanding about the disease, and make it livable for everyone until a cure can be found. 'I don't think you can ever be ready for a medical change that totally alters your trajectory in life,' said Mark Kary, who is living with ALS. ALS is a neurotmesuclar disease where the brain stops communicating with the muscles. For some, a person might lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, breathe, and it can sometimes be fatal. 'If I want to go into my emails, I can scroll down with my nose,' shared Kary. Mark Kary is 75 years old and is living with ALS. He said that right around the time of his retirement, he started to notice some weakness in his left arm. 'My brother, who was a doctor, found it, and that was about 12 years ago, which is a real anomaly time-wise. And I wasn't diagnosed until about five years ago,' said Kary. Mark's version of ALS is extremely rare. 'Only affected thus far my arms, hands, and shoulders, which have atrophied or, as I like to say, my arms are for decoration only,' shared Kary. Even with the diagnosis, the disease hasn't taken away his appetite for life. Every day the sun comes up is a beautiful day. One of the things I say is, how I get things done is with the hands of others.' Mark Kary His arms, hands, and shoulders might not work as well as they used to, but that doesn't stop him; he said he just had to adapt. 'Think about personal hygiene, anything you can do with your hands. I can't do,' shared Kary. 'I can still brush my teeth with an electric toothbrush, but that does take, you know, a four-step process.' I think you have to have a mission in life, no matter how brief.' Mark Kary 'For most people who have ALS, they don't have the timeframe that I have been blessed with,' shared Kary. And with the time Mark does have, he has created the ALS Red Ball Express. It's a visual and digital aid that you may have spotted on the back of cars. 'I want people to walk over and point their phone at it and get a connection to information,' said Kary. Whether it's connecting people with information or raising funds for the ALS Association, Mark is on a mission to ensure there is a visual representation of ALS on the roads in Roanoke every day of the year. Mark's story doesn't end, He's also been busy advocting for disabled people with adaptive access in Roanoke. A few years ago, he spoke with the City Manager, and helped put in place the Star City's first 'open access barrier-free parking' in downtown. Those are parking spaces specially set aside for disabled drivers, so they can park in timed spaces, for up to 10 hours. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
02-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Meet the rising Ohio State star, who is named after Karrie Webb, making her Augusta debut
AI-assisted summary Kary Hollenbaugh, ranked 22nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is competing in her first Augusta National Women's Amateur. She first attended the ANWA as a spectator in 2019 when Jennifer Kupcho won. EVANS, Ga. — About 10 days before the start of the Augusta National Women's Amateur, LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb sent Kary Hollenbaugh a video message. Before offering her best wishes for the week, Webb dryly apologized for being the inspiration of a name that will be mispronounced for the rest of her life. Every word of the video was a thrill, of course, for the petite Hollenbaugh, who has been on a tear recently in college golf and risen to No. 22 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. 'I've never been to an LPGA event actually,' said Hollenbaugh, 'but I've watched it on TV, reruns of old major championships.' The spelling of Kary's name comes from the combination of her great grandpa Karl and her grandpa Gary. Kary's father, Paul, played college golf at Eastern Michigan and is director of golf at New Albany Country Club in Ohio. He's also obviously a big Karrie Webb fan. Kary Hollenbaugh opened with a tidy 2-under 70 on Wednesday in her ANWA debut to trail leader Megha Ganne by seven strokes. While it's her first time competing, Hollenbaugh originally came to the event as a 14-year-old in 2019, when she watched Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi duel down the stretch at Augusta National. 'One of our really good friends, he lives in Augusta, so he hooked us up with the tickets,' said Kary. 'Then we actually scalped a ticket on the street because my dad thought that he had one, but he didn't.' Kary comes into this week straight off a victory over the weekend at the Clemson Invitational. In February, she won the Therese Hession Regional Challenge and Spartan Sun Coast Invitational. 'I've always wanted to be a Buckeye,' said Kary, who chose Ohio State over Michigan even without the promise of a full scholarship her first year. The 20-year-old called it the best decision of her life. OSU head coach Lisa Strom said pound-for-pound, Kary is one of the longest hitters in the game, carrying it around 235 yards. Strom puts her star player at around 5-foot-2 in stature. 'She's always been underestimated,' said Strom, 'but I think she kind of carries that as a chip on her shoulder, 'Hey, watch this.' ' Therese Hession led the Buckeye program for nearly three decades, and Kary was her final recruit. The legendary coach gets emotional talking about Kary's growth. 'She's this little dynamo,' said Hession of what she saw in Kary as a teen. 'She loves to win, and she hates to lose.' In college, Kary has become more disciplined in her course management and more even-keel with her emotions. Hession said she came to the program with strong fundamentals thanks to the tutelage of her father. After Hession retired in 2022, she caddied for Kary at several events over the summer and noted that her speed control on the greens gave her gray hair. After the putting improved, Hession told her last year that if she worked on her chipping, she'd be a first-team All-American in 2025. On the eve of the ANWA, Hession noted that Kary had to walk off the course after the eighth hole of her practice round with a stiff neck. Her father called Hession before she got on her flight and gave it a 20 percent chance that his daughter would play. 'I said, she's so tough, I'm coming anyway,' said Hession. 'Over her dead body would she not play.'
