This Summertime, Having Fun Is Easy

More than 700 young New Haveners have above-minimum-wage jobs waiting for them this summer if they accept employment offers from the city’s youth and rec department — thanks to a recent bump in funding for the city’s Youth @ Work program.

Youth and Recreation Director Gwendolyn Busch Williams and Mayor Justin Elicker announced that wealth of paid work opportunities for young New Haveners during a Wednesday morning press conference all about the many, many, many family-friendly activities and events and programs taking place across the city this summer.

The mayor’s office and the city’s youth and rec department have published a 57-page guide with plenty of information on when and where and what to do this summer.

Elicker ticked through just some of the highlights during his opening remarks at Wednesday’s press conference outside the Sound School in City Point, while standing alongside representatives from the city’s youth and rec department, public library, public school district, parks and public works department, and nonprofits like Gather New Haven and United Way.

There are 11 weekly summer camps, running from late June to August. There are ​“family fun days” with free food and bouncy houses and DJs on Wednesdays. There are movie screenings in the parks on Fridays, and Police Athletic League (PAL) chess clubs and boxing and jiu jitsu training programs. There are math and literacy tutoring spots — for students and volunteer tutors alike — through the New Haven Tutoring Initiative, and a literacy-boosting summer reading challenge with the hashtag #GetCaughtReading.

And, as Williams and Elicker said, there are hundreds upon hundreds of job opportunities available through the city’s Youth @ Work program.

That’s the annual five-week summer jobs effort that is open to New Haveners ages 14 to 21, and pays them $16 an hour for up to 25 hours a week at a variety of jobs, mostly as camp counselors.

Elicker said that, thanks to a recent $2 million alder-approved transfer of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds along with a separate infusion of state dollars, ​“every youth that wants to can have a job in this city” through the Youth @ Work program. 

The city has budgeted a total of $1.9 million for this summer, with $1 million from ARPA and $900,000 from the city’s general fund. For next year’s Youth @ Work, the city has budgeted another $1 million in ARPA funds and around $1 million thanks to a state grant.

Williams also stressed on Wednesday that jobs are available for youth who want them. 

She said that her department has received a total of 777 applications for Youth @ Work jobs for this summer. While roughly 70 percent of those applicants have already received letters of employment, she said, she reiterated that the city has enough money to hire as many young people who apply and accept job offers through Youth @ Work. 

“We will offer employment to any applicant.”

Click here to watch Wednesday’s press conference in full.