Youth Force NOLA Internship Funding

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions that may contain errors.

What: Youth Force NOLA, a nonprofit running paid summer internships for public high school students, presented its 2026 results and asked the council to sustain its 500,000 dollar city contract for 2027.
Where it stands: a presentation only; no vote. In 2026 the city's 500,000 dollars (a 41% cut from the year before) paid for 224 interns, who worked more than 35,000 hours at 76 employers; 557 students applied and about 288 were accepted.
Next: budget deliberations. Without city money the program says it faces a 685,000 dollar gap, with recruitment starting January 1.

The program says alumni earn about 10,000 dollars a year more than peers and 83% stay in the New Orleans area.
Chair Lesli D. Harris suggested tapping corporate partners for 2027; the group said corporate funders want to see the city's stake and the gap is too large to close that way. Another member praised the soft-skills training.
The group is also talking with the city about supporting the mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program.