DO NOT CLOSE OAK PARK'S CAREER CENTER!

WHY: The Job Center opened in September 2020 and SETA is recommending defunding it. We CANNOT close its' doors. If ever there was ever a need for a Sacramento Job Center, it is NOW, especially coming out of the pandemic when more than ever the black and brown community is looking for work! Now more than ever we need a Job Center serving Oak Park and surrounding neighborhoods.

Proposed Talking Points:

1. Oak Park is a critical community where a Job Center is needed. It is in the Promise Zone, Opportunity Zone, and designated an Enterprise Zone by HUD.

2. COVID 19 has significantly impacted Oak Park and has left many of its residents jobless and homeless. Having a Job Center in this area will be key to assisting residents find employment in order to provide for their families. Job Centers are designed to provide opportunities and resources to those most impacted by social determinants and racial equity.

3. The Fruitridge Career Center is part of a collective of non-profit organizations that work to develop the Oak Park community by reducing social and health disparities with children, adults and seniors.

4. SETA compared the performance of the newly established Fruitridge Career Center after seven (7) months of operation, during the pandemic, with the performance of Job Centers that have been open for decades, while acknowledging that even those centers under-performed because of the pandemic.

5. Pivot Sacramento as part of GoBiz operates an employment program that is consistent with the Job Center that targets people reentering from jail or prison. Through that program, we enrolled approximately 760 participants over 18 months, most enrolled during the pandemic.

6. The Fruitridge Career Center has developed relationships with employers and other community stakeholders, including the Black Child Legacy Campaign, CPS, DHA, Alchemist, River Oaks Resource Center, Unite Us and many others.

7. The Fruitridge Career Center partners with the Aggie Square Committee and Community Engagement Department at UC Davis to create employment opportunities for the Oak Park community. The termination of the Fruitridge Career Center will terminate those relationships.

8. SETA claims that funds are allocated to provide activities and services that assist unemployed and underemployed individuals to gain the skills necessary to enter high demand careers in the region. Closing the Fruitridge Career Center in Oak Park which has a high number of unemployed and underemployed individuals, especially as we near the end of the pandemic, contradicts those claims.

We need you to SHOW UP and GET LOUD!

MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT ON JUNE 3RD (10AM):
~Make a verbal public comment during a meeting. The public comment phone line will open 15-minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
~Refer to the agenda and listen to the live meeting to determine when is the best time to call to be placed in queue to make a public comment (ITEM III-B – 3 – ACTION).
~Dial (916) 263-3827 and follow the prompts to be placed in queue for a specific agenda item (ITEM III-B – 3 – ACTION) on or off-agenda matter. Each agenda item queue will remain open until the public comment period is closed for that specific item.