SITKA — Youth Advocates of Sitka students will soon be peddling smoothies and coffee as a way to gain real life work experience.
A food truck, called Latitude 57, will be a youth-run business, and is set to open shortly, YAS Assistant Director Jessica Clark told Sitka Chamber members at a luncheon in January.
“We’re shooting for this summer,” she said.
Trainers will work one-on-one with the teens to develop interpersonal skills, time management, customer service and money handling skills, Clark said.
“Some youths are going to need a little extra support,” she said.
The youths will earn vocational credit as well as a stipend for working on the cart, reported the Sitka Sentinel.
The idea for the smoothie and coffee truck came during an entrepreneurial class at Pacific High School, where YAS and teens talked about what it takes to run a business, she said. Money from the Alaska Mental Health Trust helped buy the truck.
It will be part of the non-profit mental health agency’s newer employment program, which helps teens learn how to find and secure employment, set career goals and even connect them with businesses in the community.
This is the third year of the employment program. YAS is still building it and getting it established, Clark said.
A pre-employment life skills class covers everything from cover letters to job interview attire.
“If you’re going to go on a fishing boat, don’t go in your three-piece suit,” Clark said as an example of a life skills lesson.
The classes also cover skills that are important to business owners here, she said.
Two years ago YAS sent out a survey to 70 business owners with two general questions: What skills are you looking for? Which skills are commonly lacking in entry-level candidates?
Fifty-five businesses responded and the results for both were strikingly similar, Clark said. Employers want workers who are punctual, reliable, have a strong work ethic and are able to follow directions.
“This is what the business world is looking for in Sitka,” she said. “When we developed our life skills class that’s what we focused on.”
The program targets youths ages 14 to 21 who have a barrier to gaining and maintaining employment.
YAS also runs the Hanson House, a residential treatment center for kids ages 10-18; therapeutic foster care for kids ages 4-21 to help those who are dealing with trauma; and the Family Resource Center, where the life skills classes are held, and which is available as a safe space used for outreach and prevention.
The non-profit also has community-based programs and partnerships with other organizations such as 4-H, the Sitka Sound Science Center and the Sitka Fine Arts Camp.
