The city of Picayune Urban Youth Corp Project is providing full-time summer employment opportunities for students between the ages of 16-25 who are currently enrolled in either high school or college.
Students that participate in the six-week project will develop their skills by working in their community. Special Project Administrator Christy Goss said the students will learn a lot throughout the summer.
“They are going to learn about street maintenance, drainage, utilities such as water and gas, beautification, and how water towers and the water systems operate,” said Goss.
Each week the students will attend classes on Wednesdays where they will receive a minimum of four hours of life skills training, instructed by a city employee.
Wednesday, the first life skills training session of the program was CPR certification, instructed by Dr. Debbie Moore, a chiropractic specialist at Moore Chiropractic Clinic.
The class involved educational videos as well as actual CPR training with certified dummies and equipment.
“This training is very useful. If the students ever come across an opportunity where they need to use CPR, they will be properly certified and prepared,” said Moore.
Moore has been teaching CPR since 2002 and her son has been teaching CPR since he was 15-years-old.
Other areas of training each student will receive include positive work ethic and social interaction, communication skills, leadership development, environmental awareness and functions of the departments in city government, according to an Mississippi Department of Transportation press release.
The state provides a $35,000 grant per year for the program, while the city provides a 20 percent match.
“It’s great seeing these kids being successful. When they pass the class and get their card showing they did something really good, it makes me feel good because now all these kids can save a life if they need to,” said Moore.