Inglewood : Jobs for Seniors Approved

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved funds for a program that will provide part-time jobs for older residents from throughout the South Bay.

The council approved $8,000 to establish the program for people 55 years or older. A $54,000 grant from the National Council of Senior Citizens in Washington will cover the rest of operating costs.

Initially the program will be limited to about 30 part-time positions in City Hall and with nonprofit organizations, but officials said they expect to offer twice that many jobs by next year.

Most of the positions will be filled by Inglewood residents, but senior citizens in El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Lawndale, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach also are eligible.

The program will be offered through the Inglewood office of the federal Jobs Training Partnership Act, which already serves about 2,000 residents in the South Bay. Under the federally subsidized program, employers are reimbursed half of an employee’s salary.

The Jobs Training Partnership office in City Hall is accepting applications for the positions. Applicants must be on a fixed income but no minimum is specified.

“This is an excellent program because it provides jobs for a part of the community employers tend to forget about,” said Councilman Bruce Smith, who suggested that it could be expanded by hiring senior citizens to help remove graffiti throughout the South Bay.

The program, the first in the area for seniors, will serve as a model for similar programs throughout the state, officials said.