by Kyle Galvin
Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy joined Job Corps students and staff outside the Hartford Job Corps center recently, demanding the reopening of Connecticut’s two facilities. The two Democrats called their closure by the Trump Administration “cruel” and “illegal.”
“When I go around the state of Connecticut, you know what I hear most often? We can’t find people to fill the jobs that are open. We can’t find people with the right skills,” Blumenthal said. “These folks have skills. They deserve a fair chance, and this administration is denying them a fair chance.”
Job Corps, a Department of Labor program, has provided free vocational training and education to 2 million youth aged 16 to 24 nationwide since its founding in 1964, according to the Department of Labor website. The US Department of Labor announced May 29 it was beginning a “phased pause” in operations at Job Corps Centers nationwide to be completed by June 30, according to a press release.
However, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday that stops the 121 centers nationwide from closing.
The closure of Connecticut’s two facilities in Hartford and New Haven would leave about 350 youth without employment or supportive services, including housing, according to Blumenthal’s office.
Job Corps New Haven Center Director Juvenel Lavros said about 140 students were asked to move out last week. About seven students who are without housing remain, he said. Hartford Center Director Kevin McKee said about 160 students will have to leave by June 17.
Blumenthal said “there’s no telling what happens” to students at the Hartford center after that day.
“Think about it for a moment, if somebody told you your whole life depends on a court hearing in a few days,” Blumenthal said. “And right now, you’ve got housing and you’ve got food and you’ve got a place to go, but in just a few days, the court may say it’s all over.”
Monet Campbell said she joined the Job Corps’ New Haven Center after hearing about it while at a homeless shelter. Eleven months later, she has her Certified Nurse Aide license and phlebotomy certification, and is attending Central Connecticut State University for nursing.
“[If it weren’t] for Job Corps, I wouldn’t have even decided to go to college,” Campbell said. “They really pushed me to become a better person.”
Campbell said she was at work when she learned the center was shutting down.
“I started crying. I was devastated,” she said. “And it was a hard time, you know, for someone to not have anywhere to go. It scared me. Where’s my next meal going to come from? The streets are scary. It’s not safe.”
The Department of Labor cited the program’s $140 million operating deficit in the 2024 fiscal year, which is projected to reach $215 million in 2025, in deciding to halt operations, in addition to acts of violence and breaches of safety or security at Job Corps Centers.
However, Murphy questioned the decision to close a federal program where youth are given career paths and the ability to advocate for themselves.
“Why shut these doors? Why throw these kids all out on the street? Why shutter a program that’s changing lives?” Murphy said. “There’s no justification for it.”
Blumenthal said the government should be expanding the Corps, not shutting it down.
“I’m really so embarrassed and ashamed that this country can’t do better for you,” he told the youths.