Service and workforce program aids city's at-risk youth

Nadira Hampton has traded the pavement of drug corners for the grass and trees of Pennypack Park.

Hampton, 19, who has been in and out of jail for selling drugs for most of her teenage years, is part of a new service and workforce development program that Philadelphia officials announced Monday.

PowerCorpsPHL, under the Americorps umbrella, is geared at helping at-risk youths develop environmental work skills and find jobs in the field.

The $2.1 million program, which has city and federal funding - $1 million from the Department of Public Safety, $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and $630,000 in federal funding for community service programs - will place 100 individuals each year in the Parks and Recreation and Water Departments.

So far, participants seem to be loving it. Not only are they earning some money, they have also developed camaraderie and have found they enjoy working outdoors.

"Now I wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning to get to work at 8. Before, I used to never wake up," said Hampton, who has been transitioning from foster care and was referred to the program by the Department of Human Services's Achieving Independence Center.

The first class of 43 PowerCorpsPHL participants, ranging in age from 18 to 26, was recruited from various city agencies and started training in September. They give six months of full-time service, during which each receives a $1,000 monthly living allowance plus health care and child care if needed. On successful completion of the program, each gets a $2,775 education stipend and three months of intensive post-service placement support.

"It's an alternative opportunity rather than punitive measures," said Catie C. Wolfgang, the city's chief service officer.

The next cohort of participants is to start training in March.

Some participants, including Hampton, said they were already aspiring to work in landscaping or for the Water Department.

"I want to have my own landscape company," participant Robert Bass said. "The training and experience will put me . . . financially stable in the future to support my son."