Summer Jobs Program Connects Youth with Peoria Businesses

Peoria Public Schools is helping students and recent graduates find summer jobs with the help of COVID-19 related grant dollars.

The Summer Youth Employment Program is designed for 16-to-24 year olds from low-income households. More than 200 young people will be placed with businesses and community partners around the city.

Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat said it's meant to help put money in kids’ pockets while also setting them on a career path.

“We’re all aware of the injustices and the inequities,” she said. “This is an opportunity for at-risk youth. We’re going to make sure that the young people who really need this opportunity are going to get it.”

Jobs will be available in healthcare, construction, hospitality, communication, and other fields. Participants will work 20 hours a week, in addition to receiving mentorship and professional training.

Laraine Bryson is President and CEO of the Tri-County Urban League (Peoria, IL), which is coordinating the effort for 21-to-24-year-olds. She said opportunities such as this used to be abundant in the community. The Urban League launched its first employment program back in the 1960s. But as funding dried up, Bryson said, fewer young people were able to get their foot in the door.

"For many, many years now, we haven't had the resources to bring this about,” Bryson said. “There was a time when the Urban League placed over 700 kids every summer, in summer jobs, between Peoria and Tazewell County. This is the beginning of a seed that we hope will continue in the future."

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