The value of hard work
Antonio Meredith, 15, cleans an empty warehouse on Washington Street so the City Mission can use it for storage.
Curtis Gardener, 16, cuts down weeds around the empty lot where the City Mission will be moving in trailers to house homeless men.
Young people are learning the value of hard work while simultaneously giving back to the community thanks to Southwest Training Services Inc.
Through its Summer Youth Work Experience program, high school students are assisting the Washington City Mission by cleaning out a warehouse next to the Hidden Treasures store on Washington Street for storage use, as well as cleaning up the surrounding area so trailers to house the homeless men can be moved into the nearby empty lot.
City Mission residents were left without shelter after a fire damaged the mission’s main building on West Wheeling Street in early June. The men are now being sheltered overnight at Washington High School, but must make other arrangements by Aug. 1 so the school can be prepared for the upcoming school year.
“The kids here are making a difference, just helping out and giving back to the community,” said Ester Barnes, youth coordinator for SWTS, a nonprofit organization that provides employment and training services in Washington and Greene counties.
The summer program provides six weeks of work experience and SWTS pays 100 percent of the wages. The work comes at no cost to participating organizations like the City Mission.
“It’s free assistance during the summer months. It also gives the kids a chance to make a wage, and, in this particular instance, they’re giving back to the community as well. So it’s something that they can be proud of,” said Lisa Neil, president of SWTS.
Work sites typically have a crew leader overseeing the work. CJ Baker, 26, is the crew leader on Washington Street and oversees four students.
“They give me a list of what they want done so I just make sure I assign the right kids to get the job done,” Baker said at the site Wednesday. “It wasn’t too pretty when we first got in here, but it’s coming along. I think we’re going to be moving stuff in here by the end of the week.”
Baker’s guidance and mentorship of the younger kids in the program is something that is admired by City Mission officials.
“I’ve been working for CJ now about three weeks. Very encouraging young man. I’m just proud to be working next to him,” said Jerry Oxford, the director of mission initiatives.
Antonio Meredith, a 15-year-old student at Washington High School, is one of the crew members. According to Barnes, Meredith was selected because of his good work ethic.
“I enjoy the experience of helping the people who need it the most,” Meredith said.
The rest of the students also are handpicked by SWTS and all showcase a strong work ethic, said Barnes. Two other Washington High students working with Meredith are Curtis Gardener and Kyle Webb, both 16. Both of them said they have enjoyed the experience of working in the program and seeing themselves making a difference.
City Mission is appreciative of the help it is receiving through the program, but officials acknowledge that it not benefitting just them.
“The benefit to (the kids) is that they get some experience in the work world. The benefit to us is that we get some bright, engaging young people who have been absolutely wonderful to work with,” said Dr. Sally Mounts, City Mission’s director of development.
“They’ve been on time, they’ve been eager, they’ve been enthusiastic, and we are huge supporters of this program. We’d like to do it again next year with double the number.”