Over 100+ teens in foster care and at-risk youth are spending their summer-days learning computer/IT career skills at Techie Youth. Thanks to generous contributions from Craig Newmark (founder of craigslist) and Joanne & Fred Wilson, founding venture capitalist of Union Square Ventures, Techie Youth has opened a new 3,500 sq/ft facility in a prime-location of Long Island City, next door to JetBlue and WeWork LIC.
Students of Techie Youth come from the most-challenging of life situations- foster care (kids without any parents or family), juveniles with criminal convictions, pregnant/parenting teenagers, displaced kids living in FEMA shelters, homeless/runaway youth, transgendered teens, high-functioning youth with autism spectrum disorder or severe learning disabilities, etc.
Techie Youth is NYC's largest site for youth coming from challenging life-situations participating in the NYC Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), a citywide initiative that provides stipends for the youth.
The first Techie Youth class was held in Nov. 2015 with a dozen foster-kids utilizing the classroom-space within Microsoft's Flagship Store on 5th Avenue by Trump Tower; by the end of this summer of 2018, over 200+ students will have graduated from Techie Youth.
The curriculum at Techie Youth prepares participants for entry-level roles within the tech-sector, covering topics like disassembly and repair of laptops, fundamentals of programming, understanding cryptocurrency and troubleshooting Windows, as well as career-skills such as succeeding in an interview, dealing with irate customers/coworkers and setting up a LinkedIn profile.
Opportunity & Attention, that is the ideology of Techie Youth staff and the recipe that has led to Techie Youth's rapid growth. With a 12-to-1 ratio, Techie Youth provides each student with individualized attention while offering guidance and the opportunity to become career professionals and break out of their challenging situations.
"Observing a Techie Youth class will look like any other progressive classroom, albeit a bit more fun and lively since most of the youth have an ADHD diagnosis, about 1/3 have parole/probation officers checking in on them, quite a few have dropped out of school and many are already parents despite them still being children themselves. They are all good-kids while in our classroom and have all the typical aspirations to overcome their situations and to succeed in life, but it is the sad-reality that many have made really poor choices that led to criminal convictions; several of our students have visible bullet and stab wounds. Our initiative sends them in a positive direction, en route to become career minded financially-independent technology professionals; it is a life-changing path for the students who embrace this opportunity that we are providing for them." -Eric Benari, Founder of Techie Youth
During break times, students in the new Techie Youth classroom can typically be seen enjoying the facility's private outdoor space, complete with beach chairs and loungers, or utilizing the 120" A/V screen to play rap music videos.
Despite the tech-sector being predominantly male, Techie Youth students are roughly gender-balanced. The majority of the students are between 18 and 20 which is a very critical time for the youth who are in foster care as they will lose their housing benefits on their 21st birthday when they emancipate out of foster care; it is not a happy birthday for those who are unable to self-support, it is the day that they will become homeless.
Owner/Editor - Chris Chmielewski