Teen jobs focus of Lynn meeting

LYNN – More than 100 people squeezed into a basement dining room at St. Stephen’s Church this week to pledge their commitment to creating more summer jobs for teens.Sponsored by the Essex County Community Organization, ECCO, the revival-style meeting included prayers, shout-outs, testimonies, clapping, promises and of course, singing. Members of other local churches, social service organizations, colleges and elected city leaders including Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy all said they would do what it takes to generate more jobs for Lynn teens.”Tonight’s a good night,” said Rev. Jane Gould, rector of St. Stephen’s. “We have the commitment of the mayor’s office and the Workforce Investment Board to work with us to create more job opportunities for youth.”Gould and other organizers of the event were pleased with the turnout and optimistic about what they could accomplish with the broad-based support. As the local Jobs Team, they have been pounding the drum for more employment opportunities for teens because they know what’s at stake.”Teens who have jobs do better academically, they have a lower rate of being engaged in unprofitable or illegal behavior and they have some money in their pockets,” said Gould.But the jobs that are being created through this community coalition do more than inspire personal growth and responsibility in the new teen workers.”This is not pin money, it’s not incidental,” said Gould. Some of these teens are helping to support their households. In some cases, these jobs make the difference on whether a family will get by or not.”Gould said that last year, the Jobs Team created 417 summer jobs for Lynn teens. The only problem was they were hoping to put 2,000 kids to work.Part of the problem is money. The funding to create the summer jobs comes from a combination of public and private funds. Last summer money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act picked up some of the tab. But Gould said it’s not clear how much, if any, stimulus money will be available for the program this year.Kennedy promised the group she would make summer jobs one of her priorities and she promised to speak to 20 local business leaders and CEOs about providing work for teens. She also promised to hold an event with local businesses to encourage them to participate in the program and she tossed down a tip about a local caterer who was looking for help.