BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — In partnership with Buffalo Sewer Authority, the Buffalo Center of Health Equity is recruiting for its fourth cohort of the Environmental Justice Corp. The program targets young adults, ages 18-30, who are looking to switch or start a new career.
The program will funnel the participants into jobs in the environmental sector, choosing between working in the field, building and maintaining green infrastructure, or working alongside local nonprofits to help develop environmental programming and education.
28-year-old Xavier Drayton is a graduate of the program, moving away from a previous career in law enforcement. It's not a particular field he would have seen himself pursuing, but after completing the program, he's found a passion for the work he's doing.
"The whole goal is so that we can have clean water in the City of Buffalo," Drayton said. "As I was going through the program and I continued to go through it really showed me that we’re making a difference in the community".
The program trains participants to receive different certifications in OSHA 10, CPR and others focused on environmental work. These certifications help the participants gain real-world experiences in the field and help their chances of landing a job.
Director of the Environmental Justice Corp Deirdre Wright says the program works on an "80/20" focus. 80% of the program is gaining certifications and work experience.
"We’re doing a lot in this program to not only teach our young people, teach us to our respect our environmental sustainability," Wright said. "What’s more amazing, that transformation takes place while they’re learning to get a job, keep a job, and just impact our community".
The other 20% is about building interpersonal skills to help the participants grow familiar with a professional work setting.
"We have standards, yes. But we also talk about conflict resolution, we talk about emotional intelligence, we talk about public speaking," Wright said. "We make sure that they’re comfortable with understanding when you walk into an environment and you’re staying in that environment, work culture is huge".
The program has seen a successful pipeline of graduates going into the work field, a majority entering jobs at the Buffalo Sewer Authority. Xavier is now expected to begin working with the Health Equity Center as a manager for the next cohort.
Because many graduates do end up working with the Buffalo Sewer Authority, they turn into mentors for the new cohorts. Seeing the wheel of student to mentor is what Wright says makes this program so fulfilling for participants.
”It’s kind of nice to see the whole machine running," Wright said "You have us “old people” helping them, but then you have their peers who have come before them, and they’ve done the work. They finished the program successfully, and now they can mentor the ones who are just coming through".
The program is a nine-month program that runs in two parts. The first half runs from March-June and the second half runs from August-November. If you are interested in participating, you can apply here.
