Correspondence - #22 - Applicant In Support Comments

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��HOPE BUILDING a PATHWAY to PROSPERITY Christa Sheehan, Deputy Director, Hope Builders Dear Commissioners or Councilmembers, My name is Christa Sheehan, Deputy Director of Santa Ana -based Hope Builders. In every city in America, it is now a reality: employers lack a reliable pipeline for middle -skill jobs. Closer to home, Orange County companies are constantly seeking access to skilled talent — with the need growing every year. At Hope Builders, established nearly three decades ago by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, we believe the young adults needed to fill these opportunities are right here in our own backyard. They simply need a hand up and the proper training and mentorship to navigate a pathway to rewarding work, self-esteem and a future career. Since 1995, Hope Builders has transformed the lives of 6,000 individuals mostly from challenged and troubled backgrounds by training and equipping them with job and life skills to graduate and secure lasting employment. The results, I'm proud to share, have been profound: 97% of our trainees are hired upon graduation and 80%, on average, retain employment. This is a remarkable human success story for the graduates and their families right here in Santa Ana, where the need for our program has never been greater. It is why Hope Builders is excited about Related Bristol and the transformative opportunity it presents to our community and especially our trainees. If approved and built, this visionary project with its mix of housing, retail, senior living and a hotel will create 7,600 construction and permanent jobs. As important, the developer, Related California, has committed to locally hire a minimum of 10% of the construction labor and actively market to Hope Builders and other local vocational programs. Related and Hope Builders are already underway in discussions on how to collectively implement and maximize these local hiring and active market efforts together moving forward. Hope Builders exists to unlock the greatness of young adults. Many of them have only known poverty, drugs, gangs, abuse and broken homes. Related Bristol won't solve these deeply rooted societal issues, however it will provide opportunity and optimism right here in Santa Ana where nearly 80% of our graduates have grown up.