New Haven Independent

In the role-playing scenario, the parent gets upset at a counselor because his son, “little Johnny,” said he wasn’t included at summer camp. Even though the parent was demanding, the counselor never raised his voice, He remained calm the whole time.

This role-playing exercise was part of an orientation training for teens involved in Youth at Work, a city summer job program. Three different community groups organized and ran the four-day orientation: Survivin’ N Da Hood, The Consultation Center and Jesus Children Bible Academy.

Patricia Boozer of Survivin’ N Da Hood said the “learning sneaks up on the kids.”

“It seems like games, the role-playing, but they learn,” she said.

Youth at Work connects with city agencies and departments as well as the private sector to place youth in summer jobs. The funding for the program, raised through state and local grants, Empower New Haven and private contributions, changes from year to year, said project coordinator Stephanie Barnes.

Jaime Hollembaek, pictured, is grateful for the job training she’s received in the last few days. She is one of 1,200 young people in New Haven to get jobs through the city’s Youth at Work program.

“It’s helpful for us and for what we’re doing,” she said. Hollembaek works at a kids camp at Coogan Pavilion in Edgewood Park. At the orientation, she said, she learned how to address a serious fight or an issue with the kids.

B*Wak Comfort, pictured, taught the kids about safety in the workplace in a workshop put together by the Jesus Children Bible Academy and Lindsay Ruminski, the director. The session started with a quiz: True or False? The law says your employer must give you training about health and safety hazards on the job.

The kids who said “true” were awarded with high-fives and candy.

Each workshop was led by an adult and a youth assistant. “We work from a premise of youth development,” said Terry Freeman, director of adolescent programs at the Consultation Center. “The youth see other youth leading the workshops and they think it could be them.”

Survivin’ in Da Hood was started 17 years ago by Duke Porter-Boozer and his sister LaRie McGruder. “We wanted to make a change at a time when a lot of our friends were getting killed,” he said.

“These kids need the training, they need to get skills,” he said of the orientation.

Barnes said the orientation, which began last year, is important. “Some teenagers have never worked before and this helps them be ready,” she said.

Courtney Williams and Tanisha Vaughn, pictured, agreed that the training was very helpful. Both girls are returning to their same jobs from last summer.

Williams said the most important lessons she learned involved how to communicate and be responsible. She works at Harrison Tucker School. She said she tells the kids to stay in school. “Get an education,” she tells them, “and don’t worry about drugs.”