The Denver City Council on Monday approved a $1.7 million state grant to fully fund the city’s YouthWorks Initiative program, which will work to connect 1,000 students with jobs this summer.

The $1.7 million grant, issued to Denver’s Office of Children’s Affairs, comes from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief that is funded by federal pandemic relief dollars.

The grant will support the entire YouthWorks Initiative program meant to serve students between ages 14 and 21.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and local schools said the employment program will help curb summer gun violence. The city plans to focus on five hot spots around the city to prioritize for the grant-funded pop-up events, according to city officials.

Those five areas include:

• Paco Sanchez Park at 1290 Knox Court

• East Colfax Avenue and North Verbena Street

• 800 Block of South Oneida Street

• Mississippi Avenue and Raritan Street

• 47th Avenue and Peoria Street

The programs the mayor outlined represent two direct investments, one totaling $1 million and the other offering a $500,000 grant to neighborhoods. The third program is a city-run service that gathers all youth serving programs and puts them under one roof, offering a “one stop shop” for parents citywide, Johnston said.

All told, the expected cost of the three programs is $1.7 million, according to the city of Denver.

The efforts are meant to “prevent the risks of summer violence,” Johnston previously said, while setting a goal to connect 1,000 students with jobs this summer.

“Research shows the more and more young people we employ, the fewer and fewer young people get caught up in the criminal justice system,” he said.

The federal grant helps families find summer camps, and fund pop-up events like BBQs and basketball tournaments in some neighborhoods. That also includes the Denver Parks & Recreation’s Night Moves program, and tutoring support at comprehensive youth-serving organizations, according to Denver’s grant contract with the state.

Johnston’s administration is offering a $1,000 bonus to students who work more than 100 hours this summer. The last day for most public schools in Denver was June 5.

The mayor also set a goal to reduce gun violence in the city by 20% by Dec. 31.

In other Denver City Council action, councilmembers approved a proclamation for June to be Gun Violence Awareness month. District 8 Councilmember Shontel Lewis said that the YouthWorks Initiative compliments the proclamation, that the $1.7 million grant is “being used the right way.”

Denver Gazette City Hall Reporter Alex Edwards contributed to this report.