WorkSource Center Opens in Watts
A new center in Watts is available Monday to provide career development resources and a range of employment opportunities for residents.
For more than 30 years, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles has operated the Watts Los Angeles WorkSource Center in South Los Angeles, which served more than 1,600 clients and helped nearly 15,000 residents find jobs.
On Friday, the city and HACLA opened a larger, modernized center to greater support the Watts' community, located at 2212 E. Imperial Highway. It will be open Monday through Saturday.
"We are committed to helping Angelenos connect to new career pathways and access life-changing opportunities," Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. "The expanded Watts Los Angeles WorkSource Center is not just a resource for the present; it is an investment in the economic future of L.A."
The center is funded by the city's Economic Workforce Development Department and grants. Staff will provide job readiness training, and facilitate youth employment programs such as HIRE LA Youth and the county's , among other services.
The 9,000-square-foot center also features a computer lab, business center, private counseling space and large training rooms.
It's located on HACLA-owned property shared with a 100-bed Bridge Housing site run by the Salvation Army and will be partnering with this shelter, and transitional housing sites to offer easy access to training and job resources for Angelenos coming out of homelessness.
"HACLA is proud of the 32-year history of its Watts/LA WorkSource Center which was started intentionally by the great Mayor Tom Bradley after the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising to address the grave inequities in economic opportunity for residents living in underserved communities like Watts and South Los Angeles," HACLA CEO Jenny Scanlin said in a statement.
L.A. City Councilman Tim McOsker, who represents the 15th District, encompassing Watts and Harbor neighborhoods, called the center as a "crucial investment."
"This center will open doors for individuals who deserve the opportunity to thrive in careers, strengthening both our local workforce and the families that make this community resilient," McOsker said in a statement.
