GARY JOB CORPS
Gary Job Corps provides kids with opportunities for employment as well as housing and a support system, but that program, along with the various job corps across the country are under threat of being shut down by the federal government.
On June 25, a federal judge granted an injunction that will allow the center to continue operations for now. The Cornell Law School website states, “a preliminary injunction is an injunction that may be granted before or during trial, with the goal of preserving the status quo before final judgment.” This decision renders the June 30 termination date null and void.
However, the fate of the nationwide program is still uncertain as the court has not yet made a final decision.
“The injunction ensures that current students can complete their programs while new enrollees continue to arrive, maintaining the center’s role as a cornerstone of workforce development in the region,” according to a press release issued by GJC. “For many students, Gary Job Corps represents not just education, but a pathway out of poverty and toward stable, meaningful careers.”
Gary Job Corps has had a significant impact on the San Marcos community, as well as surrounding cities, providing free and low cost labor to local businesses and providing security and other services for events.
There is also the looming question of what will happen to the students if they are forced to leave.
Randolph Goodman has been working for GJC since 1992 and has become a face long-associated with GJC. Where one can find Goodman, one can generally find Gary cadets providing assistance to the community. In his many years of service, he has seen the cadets complete many local projects.
“We built the community center in Redwood, and we rebuilt the Education Center and Burke Center for Youth. We did the mile-long track around CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital. We did that Irish garden that’s right by the tourism center,” Goodman said.
Over the course of several minutes, Goodman continued to list many other projects that cadets built locally, followed by a long list of events that cadets provide services at, including most local parades, fundraisers for nonprofit organizations, chamber events, races, tournaments, rodeos and about anything else one can think of.
“I preach to the students all the time that ‘we come to serve, not to be served,’” Goodman said.
While the area communities rely on the lowcost labor provided by its students, Job Corp is also turning out many hard working employees to staff its businesses. Goodman listed some of the exceptional graduates of the program such as George Foreman — the heavyweight boxing champ and entrepreneur, Frank Alvarez — a local law enforcement officer who was inducted in National Job Corps Hall of Fame, George Herner — a mechanic and U.S. Air Force veteran of 30 years who was inducted into national Job Corps Hall of Fame, Dago Pates — a Kyle Police Department Officer who was named “Job Corps Star” at the Job Corps 50th anniversary, Dr. MaryAnn Gamble — U.S. Air Force Veteran and medical doctor, and Heather Escalante — a GJC student turned instructor/mentor.
Hays County Constable Pct. 1 David Peterson was once a student at Gary Job Corps, which he said, in addition to welding skills, taught him to be trustworthy and cope with others. He said the program can be life changing for some of these kids, particularly since it’s completely federally funded.
“They’ve taken kids that some thought would never be anything, and some of them are police officers, some of them are administrative supervisors, nurses and this sort of thing,” Peterson said. “When you take someone on, you can change someone’s life.”
While Peterson’s motivation for attending GJC was financial, he pointed out that many of the kids that go there are escaping bad situations, and shutting down the job corps in lieu of helping them is wrong. He said the program is valuable as it provides the resources needed to succeed to those that need it most, such as housing, food and a skill.
“I do believe that this is a really, really bad situation, what they’re doing. Because, number one, some of those kids have no home,” Peterson said. “They’re going to school there because someone is believing in them, and they do have a second chance of doing something else. It’s a big trade school. What other school can you go to where it’s free, and they’ve got good instructors there, and when you leave there, you have a trade to go to and a job?”
Georgia Hoodye Cheatham worked at Gary Job Corps for 58 years, recently retiring. She said it is a shame that some of these kids that come from broken homes, the welfare system or have dropped out of school will no longer have a “second chance” at succeeding.
“For the students, it means that they can get their high school GED, their driver’s license, a degree, and go out there and earn money and pay back taxes that are spent on them for their education,” she said, adding her disapproval of the possibility of GJC being shut down. “It makes me just nauseated because, after working there for 58 years, I’ve seen so many success stories come out of Job Corps. I can’t even express how I feel about it because I think it’s such a terrible thing to do. I don’t understand why anybody would want to not give people an opportunity to get educated, to be able to work and come off of welfare, get off of food stamps, out of homelessness and be able to go out there and succeed in life.”
Peterson pointed out that the closing of GJC could mean homelessness for many of its students.
“This is very much of a trauma [inducing] situation. Without Gary Job Corps, these kids are not going to have anywhere to go,” he said. “If they’re released from there, then some of them are going to be put back on the streets; because some of them, that’s where they come from.”
Cheatham also feared the grim circumstances many of the students would be sent back to if the center closes down.
“It means that they’re going to go back on the streets in which they came,” Cheatham said. “At Job Corps, not only did we educate them but we gave them an opportunity to turn their lives around and learn that there’s something else that you can do to make an honest living and become a productive citizen.”
Cheatham hopes that the federal government leaves the program alone, but she would rather they minimize the program than shut it down completely.
A quick search of Gary Job Corps into the Daily Record website search bar is a quick way to see the massive impact the center has had locally and all the ways in which they contribute to our community.
