Durham YouthWorks program keeps young people busy, away from temptation to crime during summer months

Durham city and county leaders are coming together with local businesses to make sure young people stay busy this summer.

The Durham YouthWorks program is accepting applications until March 3. The program is designed to help young adults develop critical skills and explore career options with top employers.

“[The program helps make] sure that our youth have that glimmer of hope, and believe in themselves, and have that direction,” said Andria Graham Scott, who is the senior community and economic development manager with the city of Durham.

Scott helps with the program. She said the program gets funding from the city, county and Duke Health.

“This is a legacy program,’ Scott said. “It’s been around for more than 30 years.”

The program places about 500 Durham youth aged 14-24 in summer jobs. The program includes job training and mentoring.

Scott explained the different kinds of businesses that participate in the program.

“Restaurants and some of the entertainment venues, all the way to some of our larger businesses,” Scott said. “We have architects that have applied and participated with us in the past, accounting firms, law firms.”

Sheryl Smith is an anti-violence activist who said her two daughters participated in a previous iteration of the program, decades ago. She said the program is very important.

“It was good for them,” Smith said. “It was different than just going to a summer camp because they were able to make their own money.”

Smith believes it’s critical to give teenagers a way to be productive and busy while school is out.

“If we don't give these children opportunity to get involved and get a job and learn the experience, then they're going to end up in the streets and committing crimes just to survive,” Smith said.

The city said it needs more businesses to commit, to sign on and to employ these participants.

“It's going to take a village, the whole village of Durham, to help these children,” Smith said.

Friday marks one week left to sign up for Durham YouthWorks summer 2023 program. It comes a day after the Durham Police Chief Patrick Andrews provided city leaders with a report about the city’s crime rate. The report showed the ages of people committing crimes skewed young.