Kamaurah Hogan is an accomplished first-generation UCLA student, a Para Los Niños (PLN) youth advisor, and member of the Youth Committee for Los Angeles’ Youth Workforce Development board. Her journey with PLN began in 2020 as a high school freshman, when she spotted a flier for PLN’s college readiness initiative. She and her recently graduated older brother were connected to PLN’s Youth Workforce Services program (YWS), providing them both with theur first paid internship opportunities.
“With my brother, PLN was instrumental in helping and supporting him after graduating in 2020 into COVID,” Kamaurah said. “For me, I was still in high school, and I was so glad I had PLN there. I interned for the Los Angeles United School District (LAUSD) and got paid for it. I learned a lot and got to meet some really cool people.”
In the summer of 2021, Kamaurah became unhoused after an escalation of neighborhood violence forced her, her brother, and her mother to leave their home. For months, the family searched for housing while sleeping in their car, visiting shelters in Compton and Downtown LA, and staying with Kamaurah’s grandmother. By the time school resumed, the family was still unhoused, so Kamaurah’s mother began paying for hotel rooms out of pocket.
In November of the same year, Kamaurah and her brother found work at a Raising Cane’s, which helped lessen their mother’s financial burden. Kamaurah seized the opportunity to be more financially independent; working long hours, taking overtime when available, and making the most of her time outside school.
“I was an adamant worker; I was always at work. I would call on an off day and ask ‘Hey, do you need someone to come in?’ I just wanted to be at work. I didn’t want to be in a shelter knowing that this isn’t my home.”
It was not until May of 2022 that the family finally found an apartment in Hawthorne. Para Los Niños helped supply money for a security deposit, as well as basic furniture necessities. It’s a small two-bedroom space, one of which Kamaurah still shares with her mother, but it provided stability that life in a shelter could not. By this point, Kamaurah had weathered the difficulties of online learning during the pandemic, changed high schools, and spent most of her free time picking up shifts at her job. The lack of personal space, social isolation, and grueling work hours took its toll on Kamaurah.
“I’m in this new environment and it’s so hard. I wasn’t really trying to make friends, I was just trying to finish high school and that’s it. I just wanted to work and not be homeless anymore.”
As Kamaurah neared graduation, YWS reached out to offer her a five-month paid internship. Her responsibilities would include the creation and distribution of the same kind of fliers that first introduced her to PLN just a few years ago. Encouraged by her college and career advisor at PLN, Kamaurah took the opportunity, leaving Raising Cane’s and using her newfound free time to apply for colleges.
During her internship experience, Kamaurah joined PLN’s Youth Advisory Council, a position she still holds today. This small youth-directed group engages with students to learn how their needs are being met and find areas PLN can improve upon. Kamaurah also organized a sexual and domestic violence education workshop with the organization Peace Over Violence.
