Bay Area nonprofit JobTrain announced it has received a $250,000 grant from Google to continue its work in the community.
JobTrain “works to transform the lives of young people and adults through its workforce development programs and career placement services,” it said in a statement.
The grant from the tech giant is “to continue to provide career training, job placement, rapid employment services, and support services to San Mateo County and surrounding counties, with an emphasis on helping the communities of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, and North Fair Oaks, communities that have high poverty and unemployment rates.
The nonprofit said that, prior to the pandemic, the average annual income for the Bay Area region was $140,000, yet the median household income of East Palo Alto — a community JobTrain serves — was only $52,716.
“The pandemic exacerbated this gap as the communities JobTrain serves were disproportionately affected by the pandemic,” the nonprofit said, adding it did a survey that found 75 percent of its clients either lost their jobs, had reduced hours, or someone in their household had lost their job.
“Adding to their challenges, 63 percent worried about housing and missed rent or mortgage payments over the last 18 months. JobTrain’s work is essential to getting people back into the workforce, and this funding from Google.org will directly support this effort.”