Service links youth, jobs

Elia Powers

As a teenager in South Carolina, Kathy Du Vernet found her first job

working in her father’s pharmacy.

That’s when the 14-year-old Du Vernet first discovered the

benefits of financial independence.

“I’ve worked my entire life,” she said. “It’s taught me some

important lessons.”

Both her sons began logging job hours in high school -- primarily

at Laguna Beach’s Deb’s Deli and Golden Spoon.

Now, Kathy Du Vernet is charged with helping Newport-Mesa

teenagers and young adults find jobs of their own. On July 5, she

began as executive director at Youth Employment Service of the Harbor

Area, a Costa Mesa-based nonprofit that provides resources and basic

job-skills training for 14- to 22-year-olds.

Du Vernet, a resident of Laguna Beach, who most recently headed

the Long Beach Bar Assn. and Bar Foundation, replaced Lynne Graham,

who retired after 20 years as executive director.

“I believe strongly that employment for young people is critical

to their development,” Du Vernet said. “It keeps them out of trouble,

gives them a sense of mastery and benefits the community.”

The employment service matches regional employers who offer

full-time, part-time and summer jobs to young job seekers. The

program was founded in 1970 by volunteers who saw a need for teaching

career skills in the community. Since then, more than 40,000 people

have used the center for free.

Du Vernet said the majority of the service’s users are from a

lower socioeconomic bracket.

Much of her experience comes from counseling troubled youth, who

have spent time in correctional facilities. Du Vernet said she is

excited to be working with motivated students who want to become

earners.

Du Vernet said it’s the center’s job to teach its clients

marketable skills -- such as creating a resume and answering

interview questions.

“For a lot of students, it’s the first time they are having

serious conversations with adults,” Du Vernet said.

Students have access to professional job counselors, and some of

the more than 300 registered employers hold job interviews at the

nonprofit service’s headquarters, a house on 19th Street near the

Costa Mesa (55) Freeway.

Job boards list advertisements for positions such as boat washers,

coffee baristas and hotel staff. The Orange County Fair employs at

least 10 youth service clients per year, Du Vernet said.

It’s Elisa Ortega Marquez’s job to speak with the young clients.

As program coordinator, she said she works with more than a dozen

walk-ins per day. Scotia Amirault, the employment counselor, also

deals directly with the students.

Among Du Vernet’s first goals is to create a life-skills

curriculum to be taught at the center.