East County program helps teens prepare for the future

What would it take for a runaway child to turn her life around from feeling hopeless and worried that she has no future, to a child with goals and a set plan for the future?
Guidance and a chance at an education, according to Career Pathways' organizer Stacy Vann. Career Pathways is an educational-based program, hosted by the Workforce Development

Board of Contra Costa County, which offers young people the chance to overcome adversity and develop skills that will help them turn their misfortune into a future. "Many of these individuals have overcome various obstacles, such as gang involvement, drugs, abuse, pregnancy, homelessness and more," Vann said.

The program was devised for teenagers like 17-year-old Deja, who just completed 14 weeks of classes to prepare her for the high school exit exam. After being in the foster care system and running away several times, Deja didn't have much hope in her future. She was scared and felt alone.

"She really didn't believe in anyone," Vann said. "She was angry and mean when she walked into our doors."

At first it took a while for Vann to even convince Deja that she should get involved in the Career Pathways program.

"She said she was too busy to get involved, but really she was scared to trust in the program," Vann said.

During the Workforce's summer youth program, Deja learned secretarial skills while earning a paycheck and receiving counseling from the Workforce staff. Afterward, she agreed to participate in the educational Career Pathways program.

"It is so easy to become a high school dropout," said Deja, whose last name is being withheld because she is still in the foster care system. "During the program I really learned how to buckle down and focus. The program has classes and more."

Career Pathways offers an all-day, Monday-through-Thursday class. During that time students learn the basics like math and English, that seem commonplace to high school students but not always to children like Deja.

"The program helped me to get ready for the high school exit exam so that I can go one with my education," Deja said.

Her hope is to go on to cosmetology school. Vann said that Deja was the valedictorian of her class of 25 students who participated in the Career Pathways program this fall. Of the 25 students, 17 participated in a graduation ceremony last week.

Not only has she settled in a good foster home, but Deja now also works for at a local grocery chain store and has kept her job since early September. Already her life is looking brighter.
"She is a completely different young woman," Vann said.

The Career Pathways program started in 2005 with the help of East Bay Career Advancement and the Workforce Development Board. The coursework of the 14-week program ranges from helping 16- to 24-year-olds get their high school diplomas, GED requirements and even help them with their first semester of college.

During her time as project organizer for the program, Vann said the program has help about 75 youths who were in serious need of support. She said that there have been so many children that have advanced through the program, but the one she remembers the most is a young man who graduated from the program last year.

DeRon Middleton, an Antioch resident, had done a lot to survive, even selling drugs. While going through the program, the mother of Middleton's son died in a car accident, making Middleton a single parent overnight with a whole host of other problems. While that would have thrown some youths back into their old patterns, Middleton kept up the new life he was forming and continued on with the program.

Vann said that the members of the Career Pathways' staff helped by enlisting him in the supplemental Proud Fathers program and Middleton continued to thrive. When he graduated from the program he had a culinary certificate and was able to enroll in a culinary arts program and continue his education. Now he works as a chef in a downtown Pittsburg restaurant.

"I wish you could have seen him when he first walked into the office and then see him as the nice young man and father he is today," Vann said. "He has a totally different attitude about his life and his goals."

Now that he has graduated, Vann said that the project coordinators will be working on setting up the program for fall of 2010. She said there is already a waiting list of students for next year's program and many more youth who could use more chances like the program that Career Pathways provides.