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Across the nation, young people are changing their lives and rebuilding their communities. They are graduating from school, supporting their families, and restoring their neighborhoods. They are doing it with the help of YouthBuild.

At YouthBuild Texarkana young men and women learn the skills they need to succeed in the workforce. Youth ages 16 to 24 attend a combination of classroom and hands-on training to prepare for a career in the high-wage construction industry. The classroom component consists of diploma-based education and vocational instruction in the building trades. Hands-on training is performed while constructing, rehabilitating and weatherizing low-income housing throughout Texarkana. Safety is the main topic of the YouthBuild vocational component. The completion of forty hours of safety instruction that includes safe tool usage, material handling, accident prevention and good housekeeping is required of YouthBuild trainees prior to them working on the jobsite. All of theses lessons are continued on the jobsite with weekly safety meetings.

Another extremely important component of the YouthBuild program is the hands-on experience. We have found that once our trainees learn to work with their hands, they gain the confidence in themselves needed to succeed. Along with this new confidence comes the ability to try new things they may never have thought possible. With the Affordable Housing Development component of the YouthBuild program we are able to produce much needed affordable single-family homes for purchase by low-income residents of Texarkana. The current stock of affordable housing in Texarkana needs to be increased exponentially.

Upon graduation, YouthBuild trainees will be placed in full-time unsubsidized employment. Most YouthBuild graduates will be placed into building trades apprenticeship programs, including; carpenters, plumbers and electricians. Those graduates who do not choose apprenticeship programs are placed into other employment of their choice, including; the building industry, manufacturing and service industry positions. Continuing education through community college or other post secondary options is also a conduit to success that is available to program graduates. Through the introduction and educational emphasis on Community Tools for Better Life in Texarkana, YouthBuild Texarkana affords young men and women of Texarkana the opportunity to become successful and contributing members of the community.

The nationwide network of more than 200 local YouthBuild programs is linked together and supported by YouthBuild USA, a national nonprofit organization founded in 1990. Primary funding for YouthBuild comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Substantial additional funding is provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Ford Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, state governments, and other public and private sources.

YouthBuild programs engage unemployed young men adwomen, most of whom have not completed high school and all of whom come from low-income families. YouthBuild enables them to serve their communities by building affordable housing, and assists them in transforming their own lives and roles in society.

All YouthBuild students are poor and many have had experience with foster care, juvenile justice, welfare, and homelessness. Participants spend 6 to 12 months in the program, dividing their time between the construction site and the YouthBuild alternative school. Each YouthBuild program raises private and public funds to support itself.

Housing

Students construct or rehabilitate homes for homeless and low-income people in their communities. Projects range from restoring multi-unit buildings to constructing new homes.

Education.

Students prepare for high school diplomas, GEDs, vocational school, or college. The curriculum integrates academics with life skills. Classes are small, allowing one-on-one attention to students.

Job training.

Students build sound work habits as well as decision-making and time-management skills. They develop career plans and prepare for job interviews. At the job site they receive training from qualified construction instructors.

Leadership development.

Participants learn to advocate for issues that concern them and their communities, and to take responsibility for themselves and their families. Students share in the governance of their own program through an elected policy committee.

Counseling.

Counseling and referrals are offered to address issues such as child care, transportation, or substance abuse. Students are assigned a counselor, whom they meet with regularly.

Graduate support.

Graduates have access to resources and support to assist them as they advance their careers, go to college, build assets, and become role models.