On Course to Turn Young Lives Around

"They have almost overnight become a critical part of our nonprofit infrastructure," Perez said. "It's a trend that we see in terms of partnerships with places that do great work in the District. Part of the process of addressing the needs of the changing face of Montgomery County is looking around to our neighbors and identifying potential partnerships."

Officials from the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers said the boost in funding will go toward counseling, job placement, computer training and general equivalency diploma instruction for disadvantaged teenagers and young adults. There is also an arts component: Plans are in the works for a digital storytelling class during which the students will make movies about their lives.

But the primary focus will be on making them independent, employable people. Officials from the organization will help the youths write résumés and practice interviewing skills, and take them on field trips to job sites.

"One of the challenges with these kids is once you develop the infrastructure, how do you place them in a job and have them succeed in that job?" said Gabriel Albornoz, the Multicultural Youth Centers' deputy director. "There's a number of job opportunities out there, and a number of fields they can go into."

Ojong, who graduated from high school, said he hopes to go to college and eventually become a dance instructor. His home for now is a nonprofit independent living facility in Gaithersburg. "I'm trying to get myself together and be positive," he said.

Last Thursday, he and 10 other students listened as Jerel Harvey, a research analyst for the Rockville-based consulting firm Institutional Shareholder Services, gave them tips on becoming financially independent. The students wore dark pants and blue button-down shirts. Some had dirty work gloves attached to their belts. Others, cell phones. A sign on a wall read, "Are You Employable?"

"Does anyone know what a stock is?" Harvey asked.

"You put money in. If the business rises, you get more money," said Daniel Conyers, 17, a Germantown resident who dropped out of high school.

"Sometimes you can make a profit. Sometimes you can make a loss. An investment is a risk," Harvey said.

Harvey told the students that they should invest in stocks or real estate. But he also told them to save their money and pay down their debts.

"People usually say they think investing is for the wealthy," Harvey said.

"That's not true. Anyone can invest," Ojong said.

Harvey agreed. "Start early," he said.

Peter Garcia, 17, said he hopes to take Harvey's advice some day.

This was Garcia not too long ago: He dropped out of school by the ninth grade. He was hanging out with a "crew" -- "my homeboys from D.C.," he said. He ran away from home with his girlfriend. He was working in a Prince George's County mall, earning $6 an hour. He landed in jail for an incident involving the damaging of property.

Then his girlfriend got pregnant, and he decided he wouldn't make a good father the way he was living. She miscarried, but the experience changed Garcia. Now he's working toward a GED.

"I was basically tired," he said. "I really wasn't going anywhere . . . I wanted to please my parents and girlfriend. I saw a lot of people cared about me. I looked into the future."