L.A. Wildfires Recovery: Empowering At-Risk Youth to Rebuild Communities and Create Jobs ng At-Risk Youth to Rebuild Communities and Create Jobs

Rebuilding efforts: Tevin Banks said he knew his life would have to alter the instant he was caught robbery-ing. He is now on a course that may aid in the recovery of Los Angeles after the most devastating natural catastrophe in its history.

In addition to helping at-risk young adults, Banks, 21, of Watts, a neighborhood in South Central L.A., is learning construction skills as part of a program that aims to meet the increased labor demand for rebuilding after January’s wildfires destroyed or damaged an estimated 13,000 homes on the city’s eastern and western flanks.

Homeowners have required time to remove debris and resolve insurance claims, so reconstruction has not started in earnest. In 2026 and 2027, construction should pick up speed, according to real estate specialists.

In the meanwhile, 2,000 at-risk teenagers between the ages of 18 and 24 are to be trained for entry-level construction work under the Strengthening Opportunities and Resistance, or SOAR, program.

Initiated by a nonprofit organization that focuses on assisting veterans of the armed forces, SOAR began in June with a six-month course that included 20 students. The first session covers the fundamentals of 14 construction trades, such as carpentry, masonry, floor laying, and sheet rock hanging, even though many skills will take years to master. The lengthier route to plumbing or electrical expertise is available to the more ambitious.

According to John Wordin, the creator of the SOAR program via his organization Life Aid Research Institute, he met a veteran who was employed at a trade school when he was trying to establish a mentoring program. He realized that in order to satisfy the need for rebuilding after wildfires, he might enroll at-risk youngsters in construction courses.

He managed to raise around $100,000 for the first class of 20. He is looking for both private and state support, estimating that he will require around $1 million to train 2,000 individuals.

“I notice that I’m doing something.”

High school dropouts make up a portion of SOAR’s recruits. Some have struggled with drug addiction or mental health issues. At a recent outdoor session in downtown Los Angeles, all seven of the pupils had served time in prison, either as adults or in juvenile detention. As the group rehearsed using a power drill, one wore a court-ordered ankle monitor just above his left construction boot.

The 21-year-old Banks said that he realized he wanted to change his life “right then and there, when the police got me,” after being detained for robbery two years before.

“I tried to do something stupid, and I learned my lesson from that,” Banks said. I simply thought to myself, ‘I’m young, and I actually see myself achieving something,’ when I was sitting in the cage. I know that all I wanted was to succeed, but I’m not sure what that was at the moment.

He thinks flooring has a bright future.

In addition to career training offered by the venerable Playa Vista career Opportunities and Business Services in downtown Los Angeles, Wordin specializes in teaching life skills. Teachers like 48-year-old Edward Romero, who was released from jail seven years ago after serving 20 years, teach students there. Romero is now teaching other ex-offenders as a journeyman floor layer.
While not every student will succeed, according to Playa Vista, 67% of its graduates find employment in the construction industry six months after graduating.

Many of those in training have met David Shirley, owner of Shirley Construction in Los Angeles, who has expressed his willingness to recruit them. He has employed others from such programs, and they “usually turn out to be my hardest workers.”
“They’ve had a difficult beginning. In their group, that’s probably all they’ve ever known: difficult childhoods,” Shirley said. “So we’re happy to offer them greener pastures, so they can see what can be done with some hard work and sticking by the rules and making a real future for themselves.”