LYNN — School is about to be out for the summer, and while some students might spend the season basking in the hot sun, lack of essays, and abundance of free time, others are in need of a summer job.
So, the city’s Police Department, Fire Department, and Department of Community Development have teamed up to put some students to work.
Funded by a grant given to the Department of Community Development for its Summer Youth Employment Program, both the Police and Fire departments are offering paid youth academies. Older teens and young adults between the ages of 16 and 21 years old have the opportunity to see if they want to pursue these careers in the future.
“We’re going to bring the students out into the community to interact with the community and see what good (they) can do for the community,” Lynn Police Youth Services Director Lt. Thomas Holland said. “It’s going to be a good summer, I think.”
Holland said the Police Department has offered a summer academy before, but the age range started at 13 years old and participants were not paid.
Participants have to be from Lynn and will work 25 hours a week, for $16.25 an hour, from July 8 until Aug. 16.
“We plan to keep them pretty busy this summer,” Holland said. “It’s going to be geared a little bit more to that older age group than we’ve been able to do in the past, where we can get into some more complex subject matter.”
Holland said the department will have themed weeks for the paid participants, such as introduction to law enforcement, basic police procedures and skills, community policing, investigative techniques, and practical role-playing.
The hope is to get the participants interested in community policing and policing in general, Holland said.
“The City of Lynn obviously needs competent police officers, and our best pool of people that we’ve ever gotten are people that are from the City of Lynn,” Holland said. “We’re hoping to expand that pool.”
Holland noted that the Police Department accepted around 40 applicants and has finished accepting them.
Fire Chief Daniel Sullivan said that the Fire Department has accepted 12 applicants.
The fire academy will show participants what it is like to be a firefighter. They will receive training on basic skills such as climbing ladders, hanging fire hoses, and completing search-and-rescue techniques.
The participants will also meet with specialized teams associated with the fire service, such as the Essex County Technical Rescue Team and the State Hazardous Materials Response Team.
“It’s important for our youth to get exposed early so they can make a better decision if firefighting is the right career path for them,” Sullivan said.
Other jobs offered through the Summer Youth Employment Program include outdoor cleaning crews, office and clerical work, park and summer camp counseling, warehouse work, landscaping, bakery and kitchen work, gardening, carpentry, electrical work, and plumbing.
