Long Beach Health Department and Pacific Gateway Secure $3 Million Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Grant to Support Youth in Long Beach

PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA - The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) Office of Youth Development and the Department of Economic Development, Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network (Pacific Gateway) have received a combined $3 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to launch the Futures First Program, which supports opportunity youth. Opportunity youth are young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are no longer in school or working and face multiple life challenges.

"I am grateful to the Hilton Foundation for their investment in the economic mobility of young people in Long Beach," said Mayor Robert Garcia. "This grant allows us to implement a key goal of our Youth and Emerging Adult Strategic Plan, which is to help our youth plan for their future."

The Futures First Program is an interdepartmental partnership with two primary program goals:

1. To establish a robust, systemic approach to support opportunity youth in Long Beach.
2. To increase access to culturally affirming supportive services and employment pathways for these young people.

The Program will serve 300 opportunity youth over three years. Of these, 150 youth will be specifically recruited for the Pacific Gateway's Space Beach program, which strives to increase exposure to the space industry for youth from communities most disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These efforts are part of a larger Space Beach initiative led by the City's Economic Development department and Pacific Gateway that includes business attraction and retention services, talent recruitment, and in collaboration with Long Beach Unified School District, teacher externships and work-based learning opportunities for in-school youth.

The remaining 150 young people will select one of four pathways to attain their educational and career goals:

• Education: credit recovery and high school completion services
• Entrepreneurship: small business and technology incubator resources with training opportunities and access to startup capital
• Dreamer Resources: services focused on undocumented opportunity youth such as entrepreneurship training and immigrant support services, or
• Workforce Training: short-term industry recognized training in high-growth and emerging fields.

Youth will participate in the program for six to 15 months, depending on their focus area and needs. Both departments will work together and have the program independently evaluated. The evaluation results will help inform how best to reach and retain opportunity youth in the program as well as assess how City departments can align resources and talents to better serve these young people.

"The Futures First and Space Beach programs create a bridge for opportunity youth to learn about growing industries including space-related advanced manufacturing and design," said Nick Schultz, Executive Director of Pacific Gateway's Workforce Investment Board. "It is an opportunity for them to explore one of the most innovative fields of science and engineering."

In addition to the interdepartmental collaboration afforded by the grant, the Hilton Foundation award allows the City to standardize referral processes and improve data sharing to enhance coordinated co-case management, resource sharing and networking.

"The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation award makes possible a program premised on culturally affirming, trauma and resiliency informed practices," said Health Department Director Kelly Colopy. "The Futures First Program staff will work with opportunity youth to discover a sense of agency and provide young people the with social-emotional support needed to navigate life challenges and decision-making."

The Futures First Program will kick off in May 2022 with a four-month planning process that will include identifying a program evaluator, identifying a community-based partner to provide culturally affirming services and case management and contracting with peer navigators.

Services for opportunity youth are expected to begin in September at the Ronald R. Arias Health Equity Center in North Long Beach. Those interested in the program should submit an interest form through the Office of Youth Development's Futures First Program Interest Form. Once enrolled, they will be able to choose a pathway on a first come, first served basis after review from the Office of Youth Development, Pacific Gateway, and other project stakeholders.

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