ALMS Dinner Panel Discussion Reveals Hope!
It was an incredible night - the brainchild of Jim Hilliard asking ALMS, "How can we better prepare our employers to understand and help young people we hire to become better employees?" That was the challenge, and ALMS set out to meet it.
This July, the Rotary Club of Woodland donated $5,000 to help ALMS begin a new way to answer that question. We set out to unite future employees with community employers and start a dialogue to build trust and understanding. ALMS invested in technology to make it easier to reach more youth through mass texting and using social media to educate and develop interest. We put an August date on the calendar and invited some of our young adults in ALMS to meet with selected local professionals. It took hours of coaching the youth to make the process smooth and we carefully considered activities and questions to help them share their deepest thoughts.
All the students were recent high school graduates. The word "Trust" grabbed their attention. ALMS chose this theme due to comments from our job club participants. One youth explained:
"Young people don't know who, how, or where to trust information or people. There are too many choices. We generally pick somewhere in the middle since we don't know what to believe. But we have been taught to trust no one."
The panel was set. The day was here. We were anxious to see if young people would share their thoughts one-on-one with professionals. The goal was to drill down and hear the youth's fears about transitioning into the adult world. Although the theme was trust, fear is the number one reason young people hold back - stunting their success.
The role of the professional mentors (for the day) was to listen, encourage, and provide information. At the end of the two-hour event, it was clear that trust flourished among the future employees and employers.
We learned that youth fear "being seen as incompetent or unreliable." They were concerned they "could be hired for a job and asked to handle situations without training or experience" - creating anxiety and job insecurity. According to ALMS Intern Matthew Borellis, youth hear more negative than positive comments about the workforce on social media. ALMS aims to change the game. Youths were encouraged to understand the professionals' perspective. They appreciated being heard, and as one young person said on their response card, "I have hope."
Jim Hilliard added, "Employers need to understand the incoming employees and be better prepared to listen and provide an environment that makes it safe for them to ask questions and belong. Employers need to understand how important this is."
Guest Professional Mentors included (left to right) Fire Chief Eric Zane, Woodland City; (top) Luis Garcia; Jessica Pembleton, Trauma PI Coordinator for Kaiser Permanente; Andrew Hutchinson; Sam Ruxton, Edward Jones; Board member Betsy Taloff, Kara Jiminez, HR for Adams Group (Ag); Board member Karen Bayne; (left, bottom) Marrisa Chavez, Desiree Thomas, Kyra Hannah, and Chloe Rodgers. Missing in the picture is Jim Hilliard, State Farm Insurance. Board member Christy Barton; Matthew Borrelli, ALMS Intern; and Jayne Williams, Executive Director.
It only takes a tap at the precise time and place of a young person's developmental stage, and it can make all the difference in the world. Help us change the trajectory of every youth who wants help.
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