St. Louis, MO  (KTRS)  There’s a new initiative in the city of St. Louis aimed at helping young people facing municipal fines.

Mayor Francis Slay held a news conference Tuesday on the early success of a pilot program called the Civil Liberties Jobs Program. It gives unemployed young people with municipal fines the opportunity to have their court fines reduced in exchange for getting on-the-job training and seeking long-term employment.

The Civil Liberties Jobs Program is a partnership between the City’s Municipal Court and St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE).

Slay says this is “a hand up not a hand out.” He adds “it’s transforming civil fines from a punishment that can derail a young person’s life to a process that can get them back on track.”

Vashon is among the young people who participated in this pilot program. “It helped me get a job and financially empower myself. I just appreciate everything and I encourage any young people to try to sign up and get enrolled.”

The program is for unemployed young adults between the ages of 16 and 24, facing a non-violent municipal fine.