HSD staff are excited to let you know that the Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP) is continuing to prepare for job readiness trainings and employment opportunities this summer despite the uncertainty that COVID brings. Applications for SYEP 2021 internships are now open, and will close on Friday, April 2, 2021…. [ Keep reading ]
As 2020 comes to a close, I hope you and your loved ones are healthy and as well as one can be in what has surely been one of the more challenging years we have faced as a department. Back in January, we already knew that “change” would be a theme this year. One of the city’s top priorities for the year was to help stand-up and launch the new King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA). For HSD, this included transitioning our Homeless Strategy and Investment division staff and contracts to a co-location space with their County peers, followed by CEO on-boarding and development of a staffing plan. While that work has been underway all year, little did we know at the start of 2020 that a global pandemic like nothing seen in at least a century was already underway. Not only did that slow the progress of this work, it lead to most employees shifting to work from home, being reassigned, and changing work plans. Plus significant impacts to our economy and unimaginable changes to how each of us conduct our daily lives. With homelessness response transitioning to the KCRHA, our department planned to spend much of the year redefining how it exists within the human services space. HSD planned to work with staff, service providers, and clients to co-create a roadmap for the future. This work launched in February – during Black History Month – with an understanding that race and social justice should underpin everything that we were going to talk about. The public health crisis forced us to pause that work almost immediately. Little did we know the paradigm shift coming in the summer as the support for Black Lives Matter took on new meaning for our general society and millions more people “awoke” to the understanding that it’s time to rethink how we spend our tax dollars and how our governments respond to the needs of the community. HSD staff and our community partners have been a part of the front-line response to COVID-19, pivoting programs and rising to the many challenges to help those most in need. I am deeply proud of the work we have accomplished together during this crisis. Our mission “to connect people with resources and solutions during times of need so we can all live, learn, work, and take part in strong, healthy communities” took on a much greater sense of urgency in 2020, even as we managed our ongoing work.
*A shortened version of this article previously appeared in the October edition of HSD’s monthly Lifelines newsletter. Click here to subscribe now. When the Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP) launched its new academic year program model last year, certainly no one could have predicted that a worldwide pandemic would impact… [ Keep reading ]
With this Labor Day weekend, we say goodbye to yet another summer – although this is one we will not soon forget. As masking up and maintaining social distancing have become normal enough for celebrities to sport fashionable designs and award shows to find unique ways to present drive-in concerts and socially-distanced backup dancers, our staff at the Seattle Human Services Department are trying to get caught back up on the non-emergency tasks that would normally face us each year. As we begin the return to some of the non-emergency tasks we regularly address as a department, one “routine” item to check off on our task list is complete just a couple months later than last time. I am pleased to share our just-released HSD 2019 Annual Report with you, highlighting some of the incredible work we accomplished together—and with our City and community partners:
The Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP) helps young people (ages 16 to 24) from low-income households and communities that experience racial, social, and economic disparities. The goal is to increase youth and young adults’ ability to pursue careers that pay well and are meaningful to them. SYEP has two components: a school-year exploration and learning experience, and a summer internship. The summer internship places young people in work settings to apply their knowledge, gain hands-on experience, develop professional connections, and build their resume. In 2020, SYEP summer interns will be paid $16.39 for up to 150 hours of work over six weeks.
The Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP), sponsored by the Seattle Human Services Department, announces the launch of a new year-round pre-employment program to support 200 youth and young adults grow as community leaders and prepare for future work and career opportunities. This is an expansion to the current summer-only SYEP internship program. The new model will provide job-readiness skills, career navigation, exploration and skill building through job readiness workshops employer site visits and professional networking opportunities. The skills and knowledge gained in the year-round program, along with SYEP support services, will prepare participants for success in their summer internships. The year-round model will run from October 2019 to August 2020. Beginning in October, participants will attend weekly sessions and participate in team activities, skills workshops, one on one coaching and support services, assessments, and attending career discovery days. Participants will earn a maximum stipend of $250 per module. Those who complete the series will have a guaranteed 150-hour internship that pays $16 per hour in the summer of 2020.
