Summer Jobs a Chance for East Haven Youth to Learn and Help

If you were calling the tax office last week about your bill, you may have been assisted by one of the 25 youths who are working in various town departments during the summer with the help of grant money from the state and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program.

Overseeing the grant program operations is James Albis, the town's community development coordinator. He said that the town received $70,000, of which $20,000 is directly from the state and $50,000 from TANF, which is administered by the State Department of Social Services.

He said most of the money is going into salaries for the youth, but that it's also being used to hire supervisors and to buy supplies. For instance, in the Public Works Department, which was assigned 10 or 11 youths, the grant money was used to buy items like rakes and shovels to be used in weeding and cleaning. The youths assigned to public works are cleaning the public works building plus the area in the old high school just vacated by Academy School.

The focus of the grants is to give job opportunities to children from low-income households, according to a statement from the mayor's office. Youth have been hired in the tax office, social services, the library, public works, urban renewal, building department, and the assessor's office.

Albis, the son of town Probate Judge Michael Albis, said that youths assigned to Town Hall departments were helping out with administrative tasks such as answering the phone, copying, and filing. He noted that the training received for accomplishing such tasks will help the youths in the labor market when that time comes.

"It's good for the kids; it's better for them to be learning these things now," he said.

The youths assigned to the tax office are working on a "fairly involved" project, said Albis. A call to the town tax office last week was answered by one of the youth workers, 18 year-old Andrew Consiglio, who said he was "pretty busy" answering calls from taxpayers with questions about delinquent accounts and amounts owed as the Aug. 1 deadline approached. Consiglio, who will be a senior this year, said he loves the work.

"It's great," he said. "I'd love to work here when I get out of school."

Francis Belevich, 19, is one of two workers assigned to the Department of Social Services. Sometimes, he said, he goes with Director Veronica Wright to East Farm Village and Woodview to help the elderly with energy assistance and the rental rebate program. At the time of the interview, he was helping get out a mailing on the rental rebate program. A graduate of East Haven High School, he said he was undecided about a career, but found this work "very helpful in acquiring people skills."

Some of the participants' work is visible around town, such as those employed by public works' tending to the sidewalks of Main Street, and some is more behind the scenes, for example assisting with the day-to-day operations of the Hagaman Memorial Library.

"These types of internships help our teens learn about responsibility, work ethic, and planning a career," said Mayor April Capone Almon.

Noting that 785 people have attended children's library activities so far this summer, Librarian Sascha Gardiner said her two interns "enable us to do all this" since she is the only full-time children's librarian and there is a children's program every single day the library is open. The interns, Ashley Cook, 17, and Bianca DeLuca, 18, "are very, very helpful," working on the crafts program, checking books in and out, signing up kids for the summer reading program, and giving out reading awards, Gardiner said.

The young workers began in early July and can work up the Sept. 30 if their back-to-school schedules allow enough flexibility. Albis noted that some have already graduated from high school. The work week runs 35 hours for those assigned to public works while other schedules vary, but all positions pay the new state minimum wage of $8.25 an hour, Albis remarked.