The city is gearing up for the third year of the Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Initiative’s Summer Training and Enrichment Program (STEP) and will serve 600 young people ages 16 to 24. The program begins mid-June and targets youth who are in or out of school and live south of Mercury Boulevard or within the designated service area of the north (area generally along Warwick Boulevard between Menchville Road and Ft. Eustis Boulevard).

STEP is a 10 week summer work readiness program that provides youth paid work experience, field trips, workshops, financial literacy training and GED preparation classes. The City of Newport News partners with area businesses and organizations to serve as worksites that will provide participants with on-the-job training. Participants work at job sites three or four days per week, participate in Enrichment Days one or two days per week and are paid a weekly stipend. Program costs are paid for by the city’s Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Initiative. Participants are paid $7.25 per hour and those who have a high school diploma or GED will receive $8.00 per hour.

“We are looking forward to the continued growth in opportunities for our youth through the Summer Training and Enrichment Program,” said Mayor McKinley Price. “Because of our commitment to reducing and eliminating youth and gang violence, we are working tirelessly to help our young people connect to valuable resources and provide them with much needed training to make sure they are armed with tools that will help them to lead productive lives.”

STEP has expanded in scope to include a larger target area of the city and larger number of participants (both young people and businesses). Last summer the program served 316 youth and young adults who worked a total of 72,758 hours and earned $594,721. At the end of last year’s program, 21 participants were offered employment because of the skills they learned through STEP.

To learn more about the STEP program and the City of Newport News’ gang violence prevention initiatives visit http://ygvpinn.nnva.gov or follow the City’s social media pages using hashtags #STEPNN2016 and #YGVPINN.