Sharon Jacksonenrolled in Youth Opportunity (YO! Baltimore) in October 2005, shortly after dropping out of high school from City College. She reported that she purposely neglected her studies and her school grades suffered.
For David, working at Second Chance is motivating him to earn his high school diploma. “[This job] makes me want to strap down more and get my GED faster so I can move on to other things. I do want to go to college,” he said.
Shavae Mannarrived at Youth Opportunity (YO!) Baltimore in October, 2009, with a long history of difficulties. In 2004, when she was 13 years old, her mother left her and her twin brother home alone and never returned.
The National Aquarium Baltimore has about 1.6 million visitors a year, and its busiest season runs from April to October. For the past three summers, the Aquarium has supplemented its staff by participating as a YouthWorks job site.
When Akkia Longreturned to her home town of Baltimore as a young teenager, she discovered that she would have to repeat the ninth grade at her new school – W.E.B. DuBois High School. She was disheartened, didn’t put her best effort forward and soon developed poor habits that led to negative behavior. She stopped coming to school regularly, didn’t complete her homework assignments, and became pregnant.
Tyrone Turner, a junior at Baltimore's Dunbar High in 2010, needed a summer job.