Rickenbacker Woods representatives ask council for $200,000 to expand youth workforce program

Michael Aaron, executive director of the Rickenbacker Woods Foundation, and board member Doreen Yuas Sauer addressed the committee during the public-comment portion of the hearing and asked the council to invest in a youth workforce program called COITWE.

Aaron said COITWE engaged 35 high-school students in 2024 in a six-month paid-internship model that included community service and career exposure. He argued the program produces safety and fiscal benefits and offered a cost comparison: the daily cost of detaining a youth in the Franklin County juvenile detention center is approximately $300, and keeping those 35 young people out of detention for six months "potentially saved taxpayers an estimated $1,900,000," he said. Aaron requested $200,000 from the city to continue and expand the program in 2025.

Doreen Yuas Sauer, who identified herself as a Rickenbacker Woods board member and chair of the University Area Commission, described the program's educational approach and why an exemplar/scaffold model and intergenerational learning help keep youth engaged. She urged council support for community-based prevention and workforce initiatives and thanked the committee for prior collaboration.

Council did not act on the funding request during the hearing; staff and council members acknowledged the ask and said follow-up materials would be accepted.