The MultiCare Youth Foundation (MYF) has launched its PriceSmart YUTE Project, which aims to positively impact the lives of 60 urban youth and steer them away from crime and violence or victimisation.

The project is a collaboration between the US-based PriceSmart Foundation and MYF’s Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) programme. 

The 18-month project will offer ‘passport to success’ (PTS) life and employability skills training to all 60 youth participants between the ages of 15 and 29. They will also be matched with trained volunteer mentors for one year to help them achieve their personal and career goals. 

Some 20 youths will receive vocational skills training and be eligible for work certification in customer service through the HEART/NSTA Trust. Thirty others will receive job placement assistance and internship opportunities with private and public sector entities. Additionally, 15 participants will be selected to benefit from the Jamaican version of cognitive behaviour therapy, called ‘Transforming Our Perspective’ (TOP-CBT).

The PriceSmart YUTE participants will be unattached youth residing in the surrounding communities of Jamaica’s two PriceSmart Clubs on Red Hills Road and in Portmore respectively.

The programme aims to prepare young people for entry into the work world and provide a pool of skilled workers to meet the demands of the labour market.

MYF executive director Alicia Glasgow Gentles was optimistic about the new partnership with PriceSmart Foundation, saying, “The MYF is honoured to partner with yet another international sister foundation that shares our values and aims”.

“We are also happy to collaborate with our Jamaican partners – community and educational organisations- and volunteer mentors. We have co-created a targeted and tailored pilot project and look forward to its positive results forming the basis of a sustainable solution to youth crime and violence for the benefit of our Jamaican youth who are most in need,” she added.

“PriceSmart Foundation is excited to support MultiCare Youth Foundation’s Youth Upliftment through Employment (YUTE) project,” noted Angela Venza, director of international grantmaking, PriceSmart Foundation, adding, “We understand that many young people in Jamaica do not have access to sufficient or effective preparation for employment, such as technical and life skills training, career guidance and internship opportunities. PriceSmart Foundation believes that supporting the YUTE project will help prepare young people to enter the labour market better and thus increase their prospects for stable livelihoods. We look forward to seeing this programme’s impact on the Kingston and Portmore communities.”