ANTIOCH – Youth services in Antioch received a boost in June with a $1.7 million funding award to help with the city’s young people and its workforce development programs.

The $1,740,583.66 award from California Volunteers Youth Job Corps will further expand the newly rebranded Stand Out, Achieve, and Rise Internship Program, previously known as the Mayor’s Apprenticeship Program.

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The effort helps young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 to have paid, service-based internships that will help build career skills, create employment pathways and cultivate commitment toward community services.

The selected interns have been placed within city departments, community-based organizations, and local nonprofits, to gain job experience and professional mentorship.

Antioch’s Youth Services Network Manager Monserrat Cabral said the funding will help support an additional three to four new youth cohorts from July 1 through the end of December 2026.

“These are paid, meaningful placements designed to serve (youths), including those impacted by justice involvement, foster care, or other barriers to employment,” said Cabral at an Antioch City Council meeting on Tuesday night.

The additional youth cohort will place interns in various industries such as skilled trades, culinary and hospitality, environmental services, public sector administration and community health.

According to a staff report, the city will also expand its partnership with organizations such as Future Build and Loaves and Fishes, so interns can get hands-on training and wraparound support.

To date, Antioch has successfully implemented four cohorts with a combined investment of about $1.2 million from grants and the American Rescue Plan Act.

The cohorts thus far have supported 43 young adults through paid internships and wraparound services in partnership with Rubicon Programs in Antioch, said Cabral.

“What makes this round of funding even more impactful is that we’re not just scaling within city departments, we’re also extending to support our community-based organizations in Antioch, allowing them to build capacity and host interns directly,” said Cabral.

She said Monument Impact, a community-based nonprofit, had hired two interns from the last cohort but was unable to serve as a host site in the current group due to capacity constraints.

With the new funding, such situations can be prevented, Cabral added.

At Tuesday’s meeting, some participants of previous cohorts said the internship program gave them confidence and helped them decide a career path better suited for them.

Marily Zodi said the program helped her shift her academic focus from engineering to architecture after working on projects.

“It was one of the most significant choices I’ve made, and it was inspired entirely by the clarity and confidence I gained during this program,” said Zodi.

The City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution accepting the funding from the California Volunteers Youth Job Corps.