A Pipeline to Employment and Empowerment, for Kensington and Camden Youth

Walking into Hopeworks’ new Kensington space is like walking into a tech startup, with its sea of computers and teams of young people — only these tech workers are as young as 17, and are learning to code and build tech products so that they might eventually secure a job in the tech industry with a living wage. Dan Rhoton, 48, the CEO, believes that the antidote to poverty is simple: Create jobs and train young people to fill them. “The way to end poverty is with money,” he says, adding, “I am only half-kidding.” We spoke with Rhoton about how he became the CEO of Hopeworks and why he believes his company is a tool to fight poverty in Philadelphia.

What inspired you to get involved with Hopeworks?

I planned to spend my career in education. I loved my job as a teacher and administrator at a detention facility. Those youngsters had drive. But they were using it in the wrong direction. I felt I could help them change course. I spent 15 years there, and I thought I’d retire there.

Then one day, I saw a former student dealing drugs on a street corner. He called out to me; and he and his friends came over, and he told them what a great teacher I was. And I said, “Thanks, but I would feel a lot better about it if you weren’t standing on a street corner dealing drugs.”

What he said next changed my life. He told me he’d done everything I’d advised — gotten his diploma, his education — but still couldn’t get a job. I had seen him work hard, but still, he wasn’t able to get a start. I’d always told my students that education was the key to success, but my student’s experience made me question everything. For 15 years, I suddenly felt like I’d been selling them a lie.

I went back through every file and spent weeks tracking down former students. I discovered that many of them were struggling despite their education. I felt like I’d failed them.

Determined to find a solution, I realized the issue was a lack of experience; I needed to find a way to give these young people their first job. That’s when I discovered Hopeworks; they were already doing what I envisioned: teaching tech skills and connecting young people with employers. I knew I had to be a part of it. I joined, and when the opportunity arose, I took the lead. I’ve been working to grow the organization ever since.

Now, I see my role as more of a facilitator than a visionary. The demand is there: We have 175 young people in the program at any one time and a waitlist of 232 young people, all recruited through word-of-mouth. Employers are eager to hire our graduates. My job is to connect these two groups by expanding the number of people we can train and by building relationships with businesses. Once those pieces are in place, the model works on its own.

How do you identify prospects for the program?

The coolest part is that almost all our young adults are recruited by another young adult, because someone who has just finished our program now has a job and a living wage. They are the best advertisements for what we do.

These are young people who want to change their lives.

“I do not need another white paper on how to end poverty. What I need are the resources to get another 250 folks in living-wage jobs.”

What is your biggest challenge and how do you overcome it?

Every year I have to solve three problems: Problem one is that we don’t have enough space for all the young people who want to work with us. We have a huge waiting list. We just opened a big center in Kensington and we’re already full. Problem two is that I need to connect more businesses to the program. Problem three is that I have to fundraise, because we need more space, and we need to pay the trainees a stipend and support them. It goes around and around.

How does someone who joins get trained?

New recruits train with us for about two to three months — it’s self-paced — and we give them real problems to solve, like building a website for a company or working on data analytics and geographic information systems for Fortune 1000 companies.

And while they’re training, we’re getting them work-ready. We teach them social, emotional, and professional skills, as well as technical skills. But probably the most important thing we do is we help them deal with any barriers, like housing issues, mental health issues, or whatever might crop up.

When someone donates to Hopeworks, what does the money help do, specifically?

The fundraising we do pays for the training. Getting somebody who’s been chronically unemployed to a place where they can get a $45,000-a-year job takes work. That’s where the fundraising comes in. We pay the trainees stipends to support them, because often, young adults are basically on their own, supporting themselves. They need that money to get through the training.

Can you explain the day-to-day?

Trainees are given projects, just like in a typical workplace. They learn how to code, how to build a website, how to build their portfolio. They have to figure it out. When they work with Hopeworks, they are working for real clients. Afterwards, a lot of times the client says, hey, I want this person, or I want a team, and that’s how these kids get hired full-time.

What does that transformation look like?

For a lot of our young adults, no one in their network has had a professional job. So when they get that first corporate job, they often experience imposter syndrome. As in, “Do I belong here? Am I good enough to be here?”

We opened our new space and it’s beautiful; it looks like a tech startup. We want them to feel like they belong in these spaces, that they’re worth it, and that people who look like them belong in these spaces. So our goal is always that when they walk into that first job, they’re like, “Well, this is kind of crummy-looking compared to Hopeworks, but I guess I could make it work.”

What impact are you having on the lives of the young people you work with?

That’s easy. When you see the difference in a young person’s life and self-esteem when they are earning a living wage, it is dramatic. We take folks who are chronically unemployed; 99% of them have zero income when they walk in the door. When they walk out, they’re making an average of more than $46,000 per year. So, with 250 new jobs a year, that means $10 million in wages going back to communities who need it most, every year. I do not need another white paper on how to end poverty. What I need are the resources to get another 250 folks in those jobs.

What’s been your biggest win today?

Every day I feel like I am putting numbers on the board. On my worst week, we are still putting three or four young people in life-changing jobs.

I get to spend every day talking to one of three groups: Young adults who are doing the bravest thing I’ve ever seen, [going through their training]: They’re doing something nobody in their life has ever done, they’re stepping into a whole new environment, they’re doing what they need to do to change their whole life. Or, I get to talk to companies that want to take a risk on young adults who don’t have the degree, or who don’t come from the places they usually hire from. Or, I get to talk to a philanthropist or a donor who has money and influence; and they could be on a yacht somewhere, but instead, they are investing in our young people.

Hopeworks trains young adults in tech and professional skills and connects them to careers. In collaboration with Comcast, Hopeworks and its GIS team created an interactive map of small businesses that have received an award from Comcast RISE, a program that supports entrepreneurs with grants and resources.

What sets Hopeworks apart?

The promise we make to folks is: Come here to learn, to get a job, and to earn a living. It’s the same promise a lot of other places make. The only difference is, we’re going to take the folks who are having the biggest struggles, the ones who have not been successful in school.

There are a lot of good programs out there, but most of them only accept the top 10 out of hundred applicants. Since Hopeworks’ mission isn’t just to train tech workers but also to help youngsters and to end poverty, we take everybody. We work with folks that other programs turn down. And that’s on purpose! That’s what I love. The ambition. And how does it play out? Hope works.

What do you wish people understood about Hopeworks and the youth you serve?

People think the young adults we serve in Kensington and North Philly are the problem. No, they are the ones who have the solutions to the problems their neighbors are facing. Visit Hopeworks, talk to our young adults, and you tell me that they are not the future of this country and this city. We need to listen to them, hire them, and then let them solve our problems.

What do you hope for the organization to achieve in the three years?

By 2030, our goal is to place 700 people into living-wage jobs, every year. So every year we would be introducing $30 million in additional wages into the communities that need it most. That’s not going to actually end poverty, I realize. But by placing 700 young people into companies, it will change the conversation by quieting all the naysayers who have said there’s no talent in Kensington. If we convince every company to change just 10% of their hiring, then we’re a different city.

Philadelphia-based performing artist? The Roots, of course, are incredible!

Favorite place to eat. Kabobeesh in West Philly. The best kebabs I’ve ever tasted.

Favorite place to relax: The Wissahickon Valley Park. It’s just a great place to be.

Favorite Philadelphia small business? There is a whole list of new businesses on our website that were started by our alumni.

Favorite Philly sports team? If I answer that, my family in Pittsburgh will disown me, so I have to say that it’s the Steelers! But I love the fact that Philly fans never say die! No matter how bad their teams are, they never give up. It is such a Philly thing!

You don’t know Philly until you’ve… gotten lost in South Philly.

Why I love Philly and wanna give back: It deserves it! Philly’s an incredible town with incredible people, and they deserve the best. They earned it.

LUCY DANZIGER is a journalist, author and the former editor-in-chief of Self magazine, Women Sports & Fitness, and The Beet.

Philly Gives content is supported by the Philadelphia Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and The Lenfest Institute; and produced independently by INQStudio. To learn more about Philly Gives, including how to donate, visit phillygives.org.