Environmental Protection Agency Job Readiness Training Cohort 17
Our Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Job Readiness Training (JRT) Program is a 12-week training class that is collaborative between YCD and Hunters Point Family. EPA JRT is one of our longest running programs and we are proud to be able to offer a hybrid program throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA JRT has completed 17 Cohorts over the span of 8.5 years, graduating over 360 community residents, with an 80% employment placement rate.
The core training program includes over 200 hours of instruction in 40-hour HAZWOPER, OSHA 10-hour construction health and safety, OSHA asbestos worker, lead worker, confined space, and mold awareness. First aid/CPR and job readiness training also are included as part of the training program. Customers who complete the training will earn one state and four federal certifications. Our EPA JRT targets low-income, unemployed, and underemployed residents of the Bayview Hunters Point, Potrero Hill, and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods in San Francisco.
This would not have been possible without the collaborative effort of EPA, GRID Alternatives, Smith Enterprise and Maintenance, Ecobay Services, Local 67, Local 261, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Hunters Point Shipyard Community Advisory Committee, and CityBuild Academy.
Our customers were met with unprecedented times during 2020-2021 where the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to quickly adapt to a new, hybrid form of training. Here, 2 of our EPA JRT customers who have completed their training share their stories.
Aikne Davis
“My name is Aikne Davis, I was borned and raised in San Francisco by my grandmother. I grew up in a 4 bedroom house with 8 of my family members. I grew up in the projects. I’ve been through so much and seen so much that at one point I was mentally broken.
Somehow, someway, I overcame it… Growing up in the community, there was a lot of struggle, hurt, violence, pain, and politics. All of those things distracted me in the past. Going through those phases has made me smarter about my future and my wealth. What I’ve been through inspires me to not go back to prison. It took a couple bumps in the road to get to where I am and made me realize what’s important.
What’s important to me is to help my community and make a better future for the next generation. This means so much to me because growing up, there wasn’t much hope or help. No matter where I go, San Francisco Hunter’s Point is always going to be my home and I want to be part of changing my community. I can, I will, and I must.”
Otis Harris
“What inspires me? Proving people wrong, letting people know that I can do it. Whatever my past is, it isn’t my future. That’s just a portion of what inspires me. What really inspires me is my family, my mom… and starting my own family. I have a baby girl coming in August… The mother of my baby is what kept me going. I want to do better for the people in my community. I want to elevate and move onto better places. I want to strive to be better. I want to be better than I was the day before.”