EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The U.S. Department of Labor’s plan to “pause” 99 Job Corps centers across the nation may cost students in El Paso not only their access to formal education, but also a place to live.
‘Pause’ of David L. Carrasco Job Corps center shocks alumni, trades professionals
“We’re trying to find these students a place to live and another career path. Because we can find them a place to live, but we don’t want them living in shelters forever. That was the whole reason they came to this program to begin with,” said Wayland Chisolm, a career counselor at the David L. Carrasco Job Corps in El Paso.
“So we’re trying to do both, but the issue is the limited amount of time. How can you find somebody a shelter and a new career path in less than a week? And that’s what we’re dealing with right now,” Chisolm said.
Chisholm said the David L. Carrasco Job Corps in El Paso has 285 students, all of whom he said are expected to leave campus by the end of this week. He added that 200 of those students are “residential” students, meaning they live on campus.
Among those 200 residential students, Chisolm said there are students who are essentially homeless without the Job Corps.
“The community has stepped up for our students who don’t have a place to live. We have contacted different organizations here in the city and they’re going to meet with our students to see how they can help them out. But this isn’t just something that’s affecting us. It’s something that’s happening all across the country,” Chisolm said.
Chisolm said Workforce Solutions Borderplex is also assisting them in finding new programs for affected students, as well finding new jobs for affected employees.
Meanwhile, the National Job Corps Association (NJCA) filed a motion in a federal court on Tuesday, June 3, seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the Department of Labor from carrying out its pause of 99 Job Corps centers across the country. The NJCA is a professional trade association that advocates for the Job Corps.
Chisolm is urging people who support the Job Corps to visit jobcorps.com, where they can learn how to contact elected officials and urge them to advocate in favor of the Job Corps.
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