OJAI : Donation Drop May Force Youth Job Center to Close

Barring a last-minute reprieve, Ojai’s Youth Employment Service, a 16-year-old community institution, will be forced to close at the end of the month.

The center, which has provided thousands of young Ojai residents with part-time jobs and counseling services since it opened in 1976, is the victim of declining donations from charity organizations and the public, said Lou Ann Schlichter, the center’s executive director.

“With the economy the way it’s been, neither the United Way nor the public in general has been able to contribute as much as they have in the past,” Schlichter said. “During the last week or so I’ve been alternating between packing things up and hoping something will work out.”

Over the years, the employment service has offered young people ages 13 to 25 jobs that ranged from cutting lawns and baby-sitting to working in small businesses.

“It’s like having an apprenticeship,” said Ramon Gomez, 19, who was hired as a full-time assistant butcher at Marshall’s Meat and BBQ two years ago after being referred there by the service.

The service, which operates on a $27,000 annual budget, placed about 400 youths last year, Schlichter said.

Donna Diglio, the owner of a tow-truck leasing company, has hired one referral from the service and employs another part time. “Because Ojai is a small town, I would like very much to provide jobs to people who live here. When (the employment service) is gone, what are these kids going to do?”

Schlichter said she fears for the worse.

“When we close, there will be more people wandering around bored and taking care of that in an unproductive way,” Schlichter said. “We provided something positive here.”