some of us. now i can hear them. about two-. some of us that evening, that sweet. some of us were born as in the concrete jungles and men like tarzan with lips and silence in the homosexuality and with the context of sexual fantasy and

click like stilet to tots and cute outfits and switchblade that try to come at us, that fashion and some of us just bilingual like that because we have to be. some of us were pushed by in the chest by mothers where breast-fed begun powder. you hurt them and get stitches. don't touch them without dirty condoms and mammama always said she never raised no gay son. welcome to beyond the headlines. i'm khiashl jennings. today we're talking about empowering bay area young people through mentoring and what a powerful example of a young man with strength and determination to start off our show. special thanks to joshua merchant.

she poet from a local organization youth speaks. also joining us is founder and executive director of youth speaks. i'm so happy to have both of you here. >> james, started this program, 16 years ago? >> why did you do that? >> i thought it was important to create a space to find their voices and be taken seriously. one of our missions is giving people an opportunity for their voice to matter. so we give them opportunities to be heard to prepare them and taken seriously. >> how did you see that change of empowering them? >> i see young people find who they are and be proud of their identity and change they can make in the world and voice matters. i think it's hard to really feel you matter, you are being silenced. when youoice recognize your vois power, you have power. >> and joshua, the message is so powerful and painful. you did a great job on that.

how did you get involved? >> i got involved in youth speaks because i begin writing poetry few years before. and i spoke to a friend of mine and it seemed like an amazing opportunity to get a better sense of myself as a writer and performer but to be able to tell my story to a whole world of people that i was never connected before and touch someone else. >> how did it help you? >> it's very therapeutic. like usually when i write it's something happened to me so this is my initial reaction i need to write it out. once i write it out i'm able to look at it on the page and decide, what do i want to do with it. >> cheryl: james, what do you have of to say is so incredible. it's not just talking but it's more than that if you want to pursue something else in your

organization? >> what we have as teenager i was 20 and he is teaching other teenagers. we want to develop young writers to be young mentors of kids. it's about creating a safe environment for young people so their voices can be accepted. >> cheryl: poets and mentors, that is important thing we're talking about? >> in fact we call it poet mentors because we believe in youth development and the relationship between adults and young people. it's critical. >> cheryl: it's got to be tough to do this in this economy? >> fortunately we have enough people who like us to keep us going. it's been a tough economy for nonprofits. its shame when you see poets like josh perform you recognize how important this is. >> cheryl: what are your goals from here? >> my goal from here, is start writing plays and movies because there are so many that go to

poetry sessions but i feel i can do bigger things. >> cheryl: you are a real inspiration. thank you for what you are doing. we do have to take a break right now. when we come back we're going to learn how a san mateo organization is helping low income teenagers to have [ male announcer ] at green giant we know nature gives us the most nutritious of gifts. but only when they are ready to be given. that's why green giant picks vegetables at their peak. ...and freezes them fast, locking in nutrients ...for you to unwrap. ♪ ho, h ho. green giant this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

>> cheryl: welcome back. today we're talking about the impact of mentoring and job training on local teenagers. on san francisco neighborhoods focus on crime but there is plenty of do things going on in bay view hunters pointed. we were introduced to a young man who is raised there who is now an n.f.l. player giving back to the community. >> how are you doing? i'm eric. >> you are used to seeing eric wright. he and his wife are founders of

a new venture called the wright step mentoring program. >> it's part of the game. it's your social responsibility. >> he is defensive back for the detroit lions but his heart belongs to san francisco particular tlio bay view hunters point. >> he grew up in this community right around here. >> i had both my mother and my father in my life. they helped out tremendously throughout are the course of my life obviously. they got me in a positive direction. you still have to deal with the elements. >> his program will match teenagers at the "y" with mentors like john tanner that can help them navi. >> i challenges. >> i know education can change opportunities, you can benefit from. >> wright will lend his name and resources to offer college tours guest speakers and other

potential life changing activities. >> we want to support the youth and focus on their strengths and supported their abilities to be successful and take the right steps. >> reporter: perhaps some day move on. >> cheryl: with the studio, a director of the in as many youth foundation and this is quite a story for you. tell me about the foundation, what does it dowh the foundation is a scholarship mentorship program. all the students throughout the htsz years and make sure they stay on track to be eligible for the university if that is what they are trying to do. because a lot of students are first year college students and need that extra support they may not be receiving at home. >> cheryl: you are a graduate of the program. i understand you started as

freshman in high school? >> yes. when i was in the program attending all the events and participating. then when i graduated from high school in 2006, went on to u.c. berkeley i continued stayed involved. we started a chapter u.c. berkeley in order to create a support network for the students. >> cheryl: how did it work for you? >> just being in the program really made the difference made the difference whether i was going to ae ourunior college our four-year university. i was eligible for a four-year, tnecessarily to do itnecessaril. >> cheryl: so you have somebody to teach people and act as mentors. who are some of the kids that participate? >> the students currently in our program are first generation college students coming from low income families. that is usually the population we would like to serve.

a lot of those students don't have that support at home. if they are going to public high school, the counselor is pretty much all there is. >> so it's mentoring. and how does the mentoring get involved with the students, is it weekly or big commitment? >> we are mainly volunteer. it depends on how the mentors are involved but we have monthly events. a lot of where trips where they can build that strong relationship outside of the school site. so it varies on schedules but we aim for at least once a month. >> cheryl: how much did on difference did a mentor make you personally? >> they really showed me the light at the end of the tunnel and somebody could to on to a great four-year university and

help me navigated that process. >> cheryl: how do you think the students are doing now in the program? are they really successful? >> they are definitely successful. it's really having that support to graduate from college and lots of them have been back to their communities. that speaks a lot to the program providers as well. >> cheryl: it's so fantastic. congratulations to you personally. keep up the great work. all right. we do have to take another break. we're going to hear from another organization helping young adults find jobs in san francisco. stay with us.

>> cheryl: welcome back. we've been talking about mentoring and job training for young people. one bay area success story recently celebrated the 20th anniversary. it's a job training program for low income people and it's showing remarkable results even during tough economic times. >> this is a modern day version of the one-room school house. adult students studying the basics of how to get a job. >> we have students who have never touched a computer before, that barely speak english, we have students that might have a master's degree or doctorate. >> this is the language instituted set up to feel like a busy office. in one corner students work on english. others are learning computer

skills, bookkeeping, polishing resumes or practicing for job interviews. everyone works at their own level but they share one thing. >> all the students shall struggling, 90% of the students have children they need to support. >> she and her husband founded the instituted and they take 140 students a year. many are on public assistance. some statested states oh political asylum. they are referred here that pay the tuition. >> 33% of the contract is based on placement. so if we don't get placement we only get 66% of the tuition. >> they are putting up impressive numbers. san francisco human services agency says last year 78% of students they sent to them finished the training, 65% of

those got jobs. adrian is one of them. >> they made me believe in myself. >> this political refugee got a job at u.c. berkeley. he says he owes to them. >> that make me believe that all immigrants here who can make a better life if they have support. >> reporter: one key to the success is an internship program. while in school they do two months of work in office. she did her at orthopedic trauma institute. >> she did so well she got a full-time job at the office, but even when that doesn't happen, the internship dz are a win for both students and employers. >> this is an opportunity for us to bring people in to help them train, but also give us some free labor. >> they are hoping to attract

more employers to the program with the promise of well-trained workers grateful to be given a chance. >> cheryl: with me in the studio amy thole a program specialist at matchbridge. finding young people jobs and those incredible internships. so amy, tell me how matchbridge works? >> matchbring, we partner with the community. we partner with a lot of communities that have a strong job training component. matchbrick focuses putting their energy on partnering with businesses to create job opportunities and internships. >> cheryl: we saw how important internships in the story. what have you seen about the work based there? >> it's amazing.

in the summertime, i manage an internship program that have 45 interns and see them come into the program and see them graduate from the program, if you can see how they are empowered. >> cheryl: what are the agese eo are eligible for this? >> we work with san francisco youth ages 16-24. >> cheryl: how do you apply for this? >> they can go on our website which is matchbridge.org and we make the job application process and interview and go through orientation. >> cheryl: how many people do you think you have reached and how many have applied? >> last year we worked with 250 young people. with workshops and job training and out of those, we placed 138. >> cheryl: wow. >> but we're at this year we're

135. >> cheryl: what kind of jobs? >> we work at entry level. a lot of the job opportunities are more customer service related, retail, hospitality and office administration. >> cheryl: so you teach them how to do a resume and fill out an application but give them real specifics when they go to the interviews? >> definitely. some people need more guidance and empowerment. >> cheryl: i know that you are really want to talk about the job program. tell me about that? y is partnering withg. the mayor's office and number of different communities. the mayor has challenged the present sector to create 2500 jobs this summer.

so for anyone interested employers in youth go to hire youth.org. >> cheryl: incentive for them is to hire? >> the incentive is to give back to the community and our young people is amazing. >> cheryl: is that the challenge right there. we wanted employers to help out. thank you for telling us about that. we do have to take another quick break. we're going to meet a richmond based organization hoping to fight neighborhood violence

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that's 1-877-230-6352. >> cheryl: welcome back. we've been tneed of need of mentors and jobs to empower young people. one bay area city's chronic problem with high unemployment has brought big challenges for young workers. >> reporter: keith is among oakland's many unemployed and from where he sits, things are

not getting much better. >> is it getting easier to find a job? >> no, not getting easier. to me it's about the same. >> reporter: unemployment numbers may be improving in the bay area but oakland still has one of the highest jobless rates in the state. >> leaving the city of oakland but there is still a reluctance we have noticed of employers to employ new people. >> in february, their employment rate 16.1%. this year the unemployment elevate 14 hadn't 1%. they have seen job growth in construction health care and retail but not much in the professional sector. >> sometimes not even replies on websites. >> finding a job is especially

challenging for people between 18-30. more than one-third remain unemployed. >> a lot of them are coming from a school system that are struggling with graduation rates. the high rate of crime in oakland and high rate of gang involvement. >> at least some are finding a path to possible at east bay mud they graduated from a program called waterways, 20 weeks of plumber training that prepare graduates for east bay mud. >> i'm very excited. i do the plumbing through the naval reinvents but now i can move it over and this program, it helped me a lot. >> oakland is not alone from other east bay cities with high unemployment rates. richmond has 16% and san pablo more than 19%.

>> they are bringing neighborhoods together in the classroom and on the job site. joining she jay leonhardy, richmond youth works and tua tabila, a student. tell me how this helps? >> we are a full service gun for the youth in richmond. we work with the most at risk youth in the community. for in-school year for 15-18 in local high schools we provide acade academic supported in a program called straight talk on prisons. we have 70% exit exam pass rated and you have to have less than 2.0 2.0 gpa. so they coming out gpa 2.5 gpa d g the highm are school exit exam.

>> cheryl: that is fantastic. >> last year was largest year of seniors, 26 out 29 got diplomas and other three are still working. we have muir career academy, high school for 17-24 year olds that have thing to complete before to get the diploma. >> i remember reading note about you, you had trouble in high school because your english wasn't that good. how much help did you get? >> well first time in high school was quite an obstacle. i wasn't used to the language. i completed all the credits but they gave me this tei took i took th test but i couldn't pass it away because my reading comprehension.dge of knh

so knowledge of knowing the test and learning how to read and all this good stuff. >> cheryl: how is this changing your life? >> it is changing the way i feel about myself. instead of look can down, i can't pass the test or you can see myself working and helping my family members and try and help the community at the same time. >> cheryl: so you are successful story? >> i would say so. >> and how it been has it been ? >> it's been tremendous. john muir has stepped up to the plate and helping us serve theon older youth in need. but year round case management we had six case managers, we're

down to three. our employment program we were able to provide 700 youth from the richmond community with an opportunity to get hundred hours of quality work experience. and now we're going do 250. >> cheryl: congratulations to you. keep up the great work. unfortunately we are out of time. that is going to do it for us. i want to thank all guests. that is it for this edition. here is how you can find us online. i'm cheryl jennings. have a great week and we'll see you next time. bye for now. ♪