ŁEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA 500-F-01-229 June 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105) Brownfields Success Stories Giving Disadvantaged Residents an Advantage YDUNG COMMUNITY DEVELOPERS n San Francisco, California, an environmental Job Training Pilot grant awarded by EPA to Young Community Developers, Inc. is providing much-needed opportunities for disadvantaged local resi- dents. With its first job training cycle completed, the Pilot pro- gram has already put all of its 24 graduates to work in high-paying environmental jobs, two of which involve restoring the area's brownfields. Through partnerships with numerous local and state entities, the Job Training Pilot program has already leveraged $173,000 in funds and resources, which has enabled the program to provide participants with unique incentives and training services. To date, EPA has awarded 37 Job Training and Development Dem- onstration Pilots across the country. The purpose of these Pilots is to facilitate cleanup of brownfield sites and prepare trainees for a career in the environmental field. Young Community Develop- ers, Inc., was selected as a Job Training Pilot in 1999 and received a $179,715 two-year grant. The Job Training Pilot targets the Bayview Hunters Point com- munity of San Francisco, which is home to 25,000 residents and surrounded by approximately 120 brownfields sites. Historically an African American neighborhood, Bayview Hunters Point has continued ^ JUSTTHE FACTS: EPA's Brownfields Job Training Pilot, awarded by EPA to Young Community Developers, Inc., targets disadvantaged residents of the Bayview Hunters Point community of San Francisco. Several recruiting techniques, such as conducting community forums, distributing flyers, and working with recruitment specialists, are used to encourage participation. To date, the Job Training Pilot has completed one 288-hour environmental technician training cycle, graduating 24 participants that are already earning an average of $20 per hour. In addition to securing commitments from several local environmental firms and construction companies to hire graduates, the Job Training Pilot has been designated responsible for placing employees on all construction projects within the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. EPA'S Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment. ------- CONTACTS: Young Community Developers (415)822-3491 EPA Region 9 (415)744-2191 Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ an unemployment rate of 16 percent and an average household in- come two-thirds the city average. Considered one of the city's poorest areas, Bayview Hunters Point has been designated a fed- eral Enterprise Community. The Job Training Pilot targets low-income and otherwise disad- vantaged residents, with a emphasis on individuals receiving welfare and participating in federal, state, and/or local Wel- fare-to-Work programs. Several recruiting techniques, such as conducting community forums, distributing flyers, and working with recruitment specialists, are used to encourage participation. The Job Training Pilot also relies on word-of-mouth from success- ful graduates of the program. To date, the Young Community Devel- opers, Inc. Job Training Pilot has completed one 288-hour environmental technician training cycle, graduating 24 participants. All of the 24 graduates are employed and earning an average of $20 per hour. Two of the employed graduates are working with phytoremediation, an innovative cleanup technology, at a site targeted by the San Francisco Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The Pilot is currently conducting a second training cycle consisting of 22 participants. In addition to securing commitments from several local environmental firms and construc- tion companies to hire graduates, Young Community Developers, Inc., has been designated responsible for placing employees on all construction projects within the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. The Pilot also uses several unique training methods that are designed to improve attendance and focus, as well as foster community pride and self-worth. One such method is an intensive pre-screening orientation program, including a strict regimen where potential trainees must participate in calisthenics in the early morning hours. Train- ees are also required to engage in activities such as neighborhood cleanup days and com- munity barbeques. The Pilot has successfully secured partnerships with numerous groups, such as universities and colleges, unions, and private companies, as well as leveraged approximately $ 173,000 in funds and resources. With these partnerships and leveraged resources additional ser- vices have been made available, including instructor training, participant transportation ser- vices, career counseling services, and child care. For more information on the Young Community Developers, Inc. Job Training Pilot, contact EPA Region 9 at (415) 744-2191. Brownfields Success Story June 2001 Young Community Developers EPA 500-F-01-229 ------- |