NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced that the City of New Orleans has been designated by the White House as a Summer Impact Hub to encourage the development of summer and year-round jobs for young adults. The Summer Impact Hubs are a part of the White House’s inter-agency effort to support 16 communities so that they can upgrade and expand jobs, learning, meals and violence reduction programs for young people this summer and year-round.
“Too many of our residents are underemployed or unemployed, particularly young African American men,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Summer and year-round jobs targeted to our youth benefit the entire city by providing a structured setting in which they can learn and grow. It is important that every New Orleanian has the skills needed to secure long-term employment. With the support of the Obama Administration, we will be able create more pathways to prosperity for our young men and women.”
New Orleans will be assigned a federal Summer Ambassador who will spend the spring and summer partnering with the city’s team to meet locally-driven goals by leveraging Federal resources, breaking down agency siloes, and building new local and national partnerships.
The designation will support the Mayor’s youth summer jobs program, NOLA Youth Works, that is in line with the Mayor’s Economic Opportunity Strategy – a comprehensive effort to connect disadvantaged jobseekers and businesses to new opportunities by working to ensure that every resident can take part in the city’s economic growth through partnerships with local training providers, social service agencies and community advocates.
The Obama Administration will also enlist support from companies and philanthropies to create more opportunities for young people in the Summer Impact Hubs. Federal agencies are coming together to support these opportunities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing nutritious meals, the Department of Education is offering technical assistance through its Summer Opportunity iForums webinars, the Department of Treasury is offering information on financial education, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development is enlisting the help of its network of 4,000 Public Housing Authorities for more than 1,000 youth this summer.
Other cities selected as Summer Impact Hubs include Baltimore, Detroit, Houston, Memphis and Washington, D.C.
City reps said over the last seven years, the Obama Administration has been working to transform the federal government into a more effective partner for local communities. Federal government leaders are working hand in hand with local stakeholders to craft solutions that harness resources across multiple agencies in response to local needs and priorities. Since 2009, more than fifteen Federal agencies have launched dozens of initiatives and partnerships with over 1,800 rural, tribal and urban communities. Federal leaders are working across agency lines and offering hands-on support to build local capacity, provide expertise, and unlock resources to help community leaders achieve their goals.
In February, the President called on state and local leaders, community organizations, schools, and businesses to step up to connect young people to their first jobs and summer learning, meal, and violence reduction programs through the Summer Opportunity Project. This work builds on the President’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force recommendation strengthening the case for summer youth employment and launching a cross-sector campaign to reduce summer learning loss and increase the number of job and internship opportunities for all young people.
