And losing that is absolutely terrifying, even at my age," McLeod says. "For a lot of us, this is the closest thing we get to having a home and to having a place where we can have a support group and friends and 70 staff members who care about you succeeding.
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Students may be transferred to existing facilities, but McLeod worries that they might be full or wouldn’t offer the same experience. The students say the corps stopped accepting new enrollees last week, and staff is focused on graduating as many participants as possible before the closure. Training for a single trade can take between six and 10 months. Students can stay here as long as two years in most cases. "I was thinking, I really don’t wanna be homeless again, and what my next steps are."
When McLeod heard about the potential closure, her mind started racing. The Department of Labor asked for about $1.3 billion for Job Corps in the 2019 budget, down from $1.7 billion in 2018. That’s based on factors like retention rate and job placement. Of all those corps, Anaconda is ranked eighth for success, according to Forest Service data. Department of Labor and contractors already manage about 100 Job Corps across the country. And this place gave me the opportunity to learn something where I’ll be able to work a 40-hour and make enough money to survive, and actually live." I was working 90 hour weeks before I got here to barely make the bills. "But this place gave me the opportunity to learn a trade. "I came up here because I was homeless," McLeod says. She’s from Cheyenne, Wyoming and she's learning carpentry and welding. L to R: Dylan Allen, Cole Solymossy, Hawk McLeod, Matt Bowen, Casey Saunders. Montana Public Radio Anaconda Job Corps students pose for a picture. The program caters to students for whom traditional education may not be quite the right fit, or who come from challenging backgrounds.
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They live on-site, and it’s totally free of charge. Like Bowen, students come to Job Corps to learn trades like welding, painting, culinary arts and masonry, and to get a GED. The rest will be transferred to management by the Department of Labor or private contractors. According to the announcement last week, nine of those corps in eight states are getting shut down, including this one. It’s one of 25 Forest Service-run Job Corps across the country. This place shutting down is hard," Bowen says.Īccording to the Forest Service, the Anaconda Job Corps serves about 350 students each year and pumps about $8 million into the local economy.
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And the instructors here have taught me a lot about work ethic, how to deal with people. "I've learned pretty much everything there is to know about building a house and how to do it the right way.
He’s learning carpentry and heavy equipment operating here, and he’s been in the program for a little over a year. A trucker cap tames his shaggy hair and white tape holds a corner of his glasses together. Matt Bowen is 18, and from southern Utah. So a stranger with a microphone inspires lots of curiosity in the 16-24-year-olds who call this place home.
There’s no cell service up here in the bright green hills west of town. and classes just let out at the Anaconda Job Corps. The closure could be devastating to the students and the local community. The Trump Administration last week announced it’s closing the Anaconda Job Corps, along with eight others across the country.
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