Jobs Create Peace, (JCP), is a countywide coalition of public and private organizations who collectively optimize their strengths and resources to maximize the number of disadvantaged youth and young adults placed in long-term gainful employment.
Summary Overview
The Jobs Create Peace Coalition, hereafter referred to as JCP, exists to identify, mobilize, and coordinate the complimentary strengths and resources of local and regional public and private partners in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. These partners are committed to addressing comprehensively the Los Angeles community development public works and human resource needs. To this end JCP facilitates the delivery of community-based programs that offer training tied to real career-oriented living wage jobs, economic development, welfare and crime reduction, and affordable housing for residents of the City and County of Los Angeles.
Jobs Create Peace, a partner member organization, will build mutually beneficial collaborative interaction between the public and private sector. In this way, community investment and development, along with the funding and technical assistance needed for various community-based objectives, will be focused on solving the chronic problems that social change leaders consider obstacles to effective long-term job creation and community revitalization. JCP pledges to rebuild Los Angeles one person and one neighborhood at a time.
Guiding Principle
It is the chief aim and guiding principle of JCP to empower peacemakers to provide and create guaranteed jobs to constituents. This leverages the peacemaker’s ability within and to the community. JCP will identify and match the needs of the peacemakers selected constituents with a local community base wrap-around social service network for the maintenance of the job opportunity. JCP member partners will then follow-up with continued job retention services. Lastly, JCP will establish a mechanism for the now employed and retained constituent to mentor the newest selected constituent to continue and repeat the cycle of “each one teach one.”
Statement of Goals
Jobs Create Peace’s goal is to create safe communities by breaking the cycle of the repeat offender and intergenerational gang violence. This will be achieved by addressing the spiritual, social and economic causes of intergenerational gang violence.
In furtherance of this goal, it is JCP’s purpose to obtain and maintain a continuum of career living wage jobs for high-risk youth and adults. By providing technical assistance to the public and private community institutional leaders, it is JCP’s goal to affect the outcomes of the policy and decision-makers which are particularly impacting on the quality of life issues for the every day residents in the inner city. JCP will seek partner members in the following critical areas of concern to influence the positive outcomes:
1. Political institutions
2. Business institutions
3. Financial institutions
4. Educational institutions
5. Criminal justice institutions
6. Faith-based institutions
7. Media
Statement of Goals (cont.)
Therefore, the specific goals of JCP are as follows:
*To provide a comprehensive approach that addresses training, education, social service support, job placement, as well as job retention services for the high-risk youths/adults.
*To multiply the individual effectiveness of community-based organizations and agencies that serve our target population by combining efforts and creating synergy that will avoid duplication of services and maximize resources.
*To develop a centralized clearinghouse for the job placement of high-risk youths/adults in both the public- and private sector jobs, and to take advantage of the vast opportunities for employment in Los Angeles.
Objective
It is the objective of JCP to identify existing resources, mobilize and coordinate these resources to meet the needs of our target population; bridge the gap between the various interest groups; and, act as a catalyst so they can work together and progress along the continuum of dependence, independence and interdependence (maturity).
Public Works Project Development
Jobs Create Peace, formerly known as the Adhoc Committee to Enforce Proposition A, has worked tirelessly for the past three years to implement “at risk” youth employment on Prop A public work projects. Prop A “Safe Neighborhood Parks Act” is a $1.6 billion bond measure passed by the Los Angeles County voters after the civil unrest of 1992 and augmented again in 1996 to improve neighborhood parks for the next twenty years.
Proposition A was identified and targeted by JCP in that the measure stated: “All funds allocated pursuant to (the proposition) for projects involving the rehabilitation or restoration of beach, park, recreation, open space or natural lands shall be used to the maximum extent feasible to employ youth from the community in which the particular rehabilitation or restoration project is being carried out.”
Four years later after the passing of Proposition A and over $190 million spent with over $540 million allocated, less than one tenth (1/10) of one percent (1%) of the money spent was spent on at-risk youth employment. After years of mobilizing and advocacy with the at-risk youth, JCP obtained a quantifiable minimum mandatory employment obligation from the City of Los Angeles on all Prop A, Public Works Contracts through the Department of Recreation and Parks.
