Dwindling job market for Somerville youth

Water chestnuts on the Mystic River.

By Danielle Dreilinger, Globe Correspondent

Groundwork Somerville, an environmental nonprofit, turns over a new leaf in June with a new executive director, Chris Mancini, and the group is about to send teen employees in canoes on the Mystic River to yank up invasive water chestnuts.

But those plants won't get cleared as fast as they could: In Somerville, funding for youth jobs is slim.

Governor Deval Patrick announced $6 million in funding for youth summer jobs May 10. The state and federal money could cover up to 4,000 positions. However, none of that goes to Somerville, according to a press release issued by Patrick's office.

This spring, Groundwork employed nine "Green Team" members aged 15-18, said Adam Machson-Carter, youth program coordinator. Usually the organization hires additional teens over the summer. Not this year. "There's just not funding," Machson-Carter said.

Groundwork's budget comes from foundations, with a small amount of help from the federal government via the Community Development Block Grant.

The teens aren't taking the lack of jobs lying down. Youth from Groundwork rallied at the State House in February. In May, they hosted a meeting with the city's legislative delegation. With the Center for Teen Empowerment, they planned to present the issue to the Board of Aldermen youth services committee last night.

In other changes, the organization is splitting the tasks for its SoilCycle home compost pickup service with bike courier Metro Pedal Power for the next six months or so, Machson-Carter said. Rather than doing the pickups, the youth will work on administration and the vision for the project, and on creating a municipal composting program.

"The city is trying to figure out a way to do a drop-off compost program," Machson-Carter. In a tight-packed city, "to really process a significant amount of household waste ... it's not a small thing to do it safely and do it in a way that doesn't attract rodents."

Groundwork kicks off the water chestnut removal campaign with a mass community water weeding June 4. Volunteers will meet on the Medford side of the river. RSVP at groundworksomerville.org.