Bridges to Work of Los Angeles

Youth economic advancement

Central LA East LA South LA West LA San Fernando Valley South Bay Long Beach

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

According to a March 2025 report by New Ways to Work, Challenges and Opportunities for Change, Opportunity Youth in Los Angeles are almost three times as likely to have a disability. Students of color and those from low-income communities are also more likely to be diagnosed with a disability. Their disability can be compounded by other factors, including co-occurring mental health challenges and adverse childhood experiences that impede their ability to think, learn, and feel psychologically safe and secure. Youth with disabilities are more prone to bullying and harassment by peers and mistreatment by adults. People of color with disabilities, whether male or female, are multiply marginalized; they consistently realize poorer health, education, employment, and economic outcomes. We recognize the intersectionality of race, gender, socioeconomic status, disability, and other characteristics that combined can affect education, career, social, and economic outcomes across the lifespan.

One director and 5 employment specialists will recruit youth with disabilities from the Los Angeles Unified School District to participate in Bridges' career services. Employment specialists will conduct intake and assessment sessions for all and provide tailored job readiness instructional sessions that will prepare youth for employment and instill a career mindset. They assist with job searches, job interviews, résumés, career exploration, and job matching that lead to quality employment with supportive businesses. Once hired, they accompany youth to their first day of employment to assist with onboarding and orientation. During the first 90 days of employment, they conduct in-person job site visits, followed thereafter by ongoing check-ins via text, phone, video conference, or face-to-face meetings. Post-hire monitoring continues for one year, with employment specialists recording ongoing case notes and job retention benchmarks at 90, 180, 270, and 365 days in a secure case management system, ClientTrack. Employment specialists function as mentors and career coaches who remove the logistical and psychological barriers that can overwhelm youth with disabilities who want jobs but do not know how to find them.
We will enroll 100 youth and create digital case files for each, providing ongoing mentoring, instruction, and support. Of 100, 80 will be hired in jobs with supportive employers; 60 will retain their jobs for 90 days and 50 for 180 days.

One hundred young adults with disabilities will be better equipped to participate fully as citizens and denizens of Los Angeles. Employment will build their professional network, cultivate their social capital, and establish their reputation as a productive, dependable, young adult. The support provided by a Bridges employment specialist will help foster their self-efficacy, and their workplace achievements will afford them a sense of purpose and a professional identity. They will develop mature work habits, adopt a career mindset, and exhibit a work ethic that will make them more indispensable to employers. Early work experiences through the Bridges program increase youths’ prospects for career satisfaction, professional advancement, and social and economic mobility as they mature into adulthood and start families of their own. Participation in Bridges reduces rates of unemployment, substance abuse, and illicit behaviors that can have detrimental effects across the lifespan.