ByJO , JO ES
Capital ew Servia
LANSING- The proposed
S22 million cut to the Michigan
Youth Corp budget could be a
great help to Michigan busi­
nesses and Department of Men­
tal Health clients, or not,
depending on who you talk to in
the Legislature.
Passed by the Senate April
13 and on its ay to the House,
the bill ould take an 84 percent
slice out of the Michigan Youth
Corps' 1990 budget, $25 million
to S3 million, and would reap­
propriate tho e funds to a sup­
porti employment program in
the Dep rtment of ental
Heal
The Youth Corps program
was tarred by Gov. James
Blanchard in 1983, with a
budget of $10 million and
designed to help Michigan
yo find jo durmg the bei ,t
AF
..,A11 J
NEW ORLEANS - "If the
·African American Summmit
does not include all the voices
that ruck for freedom fqr our
people. If we have to meet,
meeting about who is offended
by our meeti' then our men­
tality and our a . ODS determine
that we are yet slaves: said Min.
Louis Farrakhan addressing not
only the Afrie n American
Summit but the controversy that
surrounded his participation
before the meeting ever con­
vened here the weekend of
April 21-n.
Speaking Sunday morning at
the close of the Summit, Min.
Farrakhan's surprise p­
A pe ranee mar ed a . rit of
. unity and direction brought to
the gathering of 2000 com-
munity leaders from across the
country, .
Farrakhan's invitation
caused one group of Black
Repulicans to bow out nd pos­
sibly scared away some notabJ
civil rights leaders.
Youth
AACP President Benj
Hooks told th major media
would not participate beca
the NAACP could "not co trol"
the- proceedings.
"If we are in fact a free
peop must not let
•
any member of our community
ca US to I their pr m be-
00 our probl "Min. Far-
rakhan said to 10 d applause.
"They have probl ms with all
who struggle for justice to one
degree or another. They have a
problem with me and I undo -
stand, • the leader of the ati
of Islam said
"The prob m with Farr -
han m a lot of us a little
nervous cause noone kno
what Brother going to say.
They wonder if I'll say some­
thing that i explosive or hurt the
conference. .. I'm your brother
and a fellow sufferer with you,"
Min. Farrakhan said
"Whatever I say is n cessary
and I'm not concerned ith who
is offended by what lay,· the
Muslim leader said. And it
should never be the co cern of
Blae people who would lead
our people ... We are brothers
and sisters. We either go up
together or we sink or die
together. We cannot look to the
few who are in the middle- class,
who have maybe two paychecks
away from po rty. If this is
going to be a meaningful Sum­
mit we must think in terms 'of the
masses of our people who suffer
whi1ewes· ;whogrievewhilewe.
listen and die. And hy do they
suffer, grieve and die? The
Scripture says 'My people are
destroyed for the lack of
knowledge.' It i ignorance that
Corp
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oftbe recessioe. . "The results are pretty
The program is designed to dramatic and pretty im­
give young people meaningful mediate."
wor and to help them move on The money would be used to
to new opportunities. - support this program, which has
. � 1988 operating with a $2S . ties, not only in public health,
milllon budget, the Youth but also in education and
Carps helped more than 20,000 several businesses in the private
yOung peop find jobs. .sector. Supporting the m ntal
The supportive employment health program would,
program in the Department of however, considerably decrease
ental Health is designed to' the budget for the Youth Corps
train people from mental health in the Department of Labor.
boards and intermediate school "They're trying to get rid of a
districts to do j that would program that does work,"
integrate them . to the work Elizabeth Howe, director of the
forte. It wou d pay for SUI Department of Labor, said
pervisors t� train these people "This. a p�ogram that �l sue­
in their ne jobs d to check on �� �wiU be funded with $25
. p ogress peri dically. million.. .
This program creates the. The point raised at the
ability for agencies to help gov�rno�'s conferen�e on
people make it on their own," tourism an Traverse City on
Larry Van Desance frob the Apri11� an� 11, that the MYC
Department of Public Health, taking jobs a y from the
said Michigan to\ll'Ul industry.
Sen. Connie Binsfeld, 'R­
Maple City, in a Senate hearing
said that several restaurants in
her northern Michigan district
were forced to close becau
they couldn't get employees,
largely because of the MYC
taking young people away from
the private sector. .
"We're not in competition
with the private sector," Howe
said. "We identify people who
can get a job in the private sec­
tor and send them there. It's a
perception (that the MYC is
taking jobs away from the
private sector), but I don't thin
it's accurate."
In 1983, the youth unemploy­
ment rate was at 29 percent, but
it. is now at 17 percent The
MYC supporters contend it .
largely a result of the Youth
Corps' efforts, but Cruce and
uecl
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