Youthbuild – Nationwide

In 200 programs across the nation, unemployed young Americans aged 16-24 are rebuilding their own lives as they rebuild their communities. A successful example of an alternative pathway to college and success, YouthBuild alternates weeks of traditional classes with weeks of on-site construction training for a 12-month period. The participants receive training, education, counseling and leadership development while they construct and rehabilitate affordable housing in their own communities.

YouthBuild combines the features of many successful programs – integration of academic skills with vocational training, small classes that provide one-on-one attention and post-program training, including references and recommendations for employment.

In 2000, 89.1% of the participants entered the program without a GED or diploma and 90% were from low-income families; the average reading level at entrance was 7th grade. Yet 85.6% of the participants were placed in jobs or school after graduation and 60% complete the program.

Each YouthBuild program secures its own funding from a combination of private and public, federal, state and local sources. Thirty-two sites are collaborations of YouthBuild and Americorps. Those programs receive funding through State Commissions on National and Community Services, and participants in 15 of those programs receive educational grants from the Corporation for National Service. The Home Depot, the Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other private organizations have provided ongoing financial support to the YouthBuild Initiative.

In the early nineties, Congressman Major Owens (D-NY) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduced legislation that resulted in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992’s “Hope for Youth: YouthBuild.” The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $193 million in grants and contracts to YouthBuild programs from 1993-1998. In his FY2003 budget, President Bush proposed $65 million in funding for YouthBuild through HUD.

“The YouthBuild Program provides more than just a needed shelter for families. It also provides hope and fulfillment for at-risk youth by opening their eyes to the rewards found in helping out the neighbors in need. Moreover, the skills that these young people learn and the opportunity the program affords them earn a GED will open doors to brighter futures and help change the course of their lives for the better,” President Bush, September 200

Contact:

YouthBuild USA
58 Day Street
P.O.Box 440322
Somerville, MA 02144

Phone: 617-623-9900
Fax: 617-623-4331

On the Web: http://www.youthbuild.org