GOP expects people to work while closing doors to opportunity
By Paul Epstein
On a bitterly cold morning this January, Brendan and Amare
hopped into my Ford Explorer and we drove 30 miles to Grafton, Massachusetts.
Our destination: the Grafton Job Corps campus, one of 125
similar sites in all 50 states. These campuses provide housing, education, and
vocational training to tens of thousands of young people aged 16-24 in need of
support, guidance, and direction in their lives.
The program grew out of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on
Poverty and Great Society initiatives over 60 years ago — back when our federal
government sought innovative solutions to problems plaguing our country.
Brendan is an optimistic New Hampshire native who pours all of himself into his career as a transition specialist, where he expertly helps young adults with disabilities forge a path after high school.
At the time, Amare was a 19-year-old “super-senior” taking a
second crack at 12th grade, hoping to complete his graduation requirements and
launch himself into early adulthood.
As Amare polished off a breakfast sandwich and a frozen
peanut butter smoothie concoction as only teenagers can do, we talked about his
hopes and dreams. Amare understood that for a variety of reasons, college
wasn’t the best fit for him. But he yearned to experience some of the elements
of independent living and socializing that a campus environment could provide.
As we toured the Grafton Job Corps site, it was like all of
Amare’s boxes were being checked. Dormitory style living with all meals and
living essentials provided free of charge. Vocational training at least on par
with any reputable trade school. Caring staff who understand the lived
experiences, insecurities, and unbridled potential of the population they are
there to serve.
Across the country, Job Corps campuses provide all that for
just 0.15 percent of the $1 trillion President Trump wants to spend on the
Pentagon. Talk about a good investment!
This spring, Amare finally walked across a stage in cap and
gown and received his diploma with a proud smile. Amare defied the odds and
overcame many challenges that must have at times seemed insurmountable. For me,
it’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve as the social worker for this
dignified, resilient, and soulful young man.
This should be a time of celebration and affirmation for
Amare. Instead, the three of us are shocked and brokenhearted, left trying to
pick up the pieces after yet another irrational, short-sighted, and downright
cruel edict from the White House.
President Trump is on a mission to strip Job Corps funding
in his latest budget — and without even passing that budget, his administration
has ordered much of the program to shut down.
This will almost certainly result in the closure of the
Grafton site where Amare planned to enroll after graduation.
Job Corps “has
been ordered to shut down campuses, terminate staff and, most troublingly,
remove the tens of thousands of 16 to 24-year-olds who reside on those campuses,”
the National Jobs Corps Association reported on May 29. “More than 4,500 of
those students were homeless before joining the Job Corps and potentially face
a perilous future.”
As we drove home from Grafton months ago, I remember it felt
like a door had opened. But Trump and the GOP have slammed it shut for Amare
and tens of thousands of kids like him.
Rest assured, Amare’s story doesn’t end here. Brendan and I,
along with other people in Amare’s village, will support him in developing a
backup plan. He has a bright future and we’re going to help him find it.
But shame on the politicians who are making it more difficult for Amare and young Americans like him. We should be expanding programs like the Job Corps, not shutting them down.
Paul Epstein is a social worker at Brookline High school in Brookline, Massachusetts. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.