Are you looking for FREE Tutoring, Workshops, Employment and More? YES!

For several years El Barrio, the workforce center of the West Side Ecumenical Ministry has been serving Cleveland youth through structured but fun, educational but interesting and more importantly, effective ways. With the primary financial support of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland as well as some local foundations, El Barrio serves 80 low-income primarily minority youth every year with a broad variety of after-school year-round programming.



Youth enrolled in YES (Youth Employment Services) have access to personalized tutoring sessions in English and/or Spanish. Tutors help students with homework, areas that need to be strengthened and they monitor their school performance and progress. Two fully equipped computer labs are available for YES services. Through a generous donation from the John K. Mott Foundation, YES purchased an online tutoring program called Aztec, to address the needs of the new generations of learners who are digitally-oriented and more comfortable with messages through computerized systems.



With just 2 weeks of use, our YES kids are already reaping the benefits of this system. Just like Lyanne, a 10th grader enrolled in the program since last year, who is extremely excited about Aztec because she can work “at her own pace” in the different subjects she needs to improve for school. She mostly enjoys working in reading and spelling on the computer. As she states, (the program) “is very friendly and interactive with pictures and voices that makes it easy to learn and understand”.



Workshops are an essential part of El Barrio’s Youth Employment Services, where every Tuesday, guest speakers and experts talk to participants about Career Exploration, Job Readiness, Health and Personal Development. Field trips are also included to enrich the youths’ experience with a hands-on approach to careers and workplaces.