YouthBuild Offers At-Risk Teens a Chance at a Bright Future | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Lindsay Marchello, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

Program teaches young adults job skills while helping with formal education and providing a haven from tough circumstances

    Eighteen-year-old Ja'Nasi Little has been out of school since the eighth grade, but he got his high school diploma this month.

    He attributes the accomplishment to hard work, perseverance, and the guiding hand of Bull City YouthBuild.

    Bull City YouthBuild, in Durham's Golden Belt Building, is a place for at-risk youth to learn the skills needed to become gainfully employed.

    The nationwide program - it's funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Labor - has been around since 1990, but the Durham chapter began in April. YouthBuild partners with the Triangle Literacy Council and Habitat for Humanity-Durham.

    "So many of these youths are facing struggles in their personal life," Laura Walters, president and CEO of the Triangle Literacy Council, said. "Many of them are coming from low-income households, they are homeless, they are foster children, or they have had crime offenses like gang involvement."

    Walters said the YouthBuild structure works better for these young people when compared to a traditional education. It now has 23 participants for this cohort, but only 14 are active. Keeping attendance can be difficult, but YouthBuild reaches out to the participants and works to find a structure that best fits each person.

    "These are not your typical individuals. They really have a lot of challenges," Walters said. "Triangle Literacy Council has always considered themselves very flexible, and we work really hard to go to the students and take our services to them. We feel really strongly about that with the YouthBuild program because you have to be flexible with this population."

    Flexibility means helping the participants with housing, mental health services, and sometimes drug and alcohol interventions.


Bull City YouthBuild Construction Instructor Joe Hall watches as Nysheed McClinton uses a power saw at the Habitat for Humanity-Durham construction site. (CJ photo by Lindsay Marchello)
    Participants, who range in age from 16 to 24, have struggled with traditional schooling, and many are high school dropouts. Through YouthBuild they have the opportunity to earn not only their high school equivalency, but also OSHA certification and hands-on construction experience.

    Not only do participants learn math and reading skills during the nine-month program, but they also get the opportunity to learn about work ethic, financial literacy, and leadership skills. Participants take field trips - one took them to Elizabeth City, where they met with university officials and the Elizabeth City YouthBuild chapter.

    They got to visit the beach.

    "They have never seen the beach before," Walters said. "We are trying to expose them to new parts of the world."

    Little says the YouthBuild program is hard work, but it has kept him busy.

    "I'm not sitting at home, bored and getting into stuff," Little said. "There's a lot less distractions here, too."

    Cory Rawlinson, YouthBuild assistant project director, says the program gives participants a sense of purpose.

    "It is great to see them finish something they started," Rawlinson said. "A lot of our students here have started many programs and never completed them. They have started jobs and then quit, but here they are with a group that won't let them quit and want to see them complete [the program]."

    Participants get the chance to use what they've learned by helping to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. Joe Hall, a construction instructor for YouthBuild, oversees the building projects and teaches the participants construction skills.

    Hall said he was drawn to YouthBuild because it helps kids who have faced hardship get the chance to succeed and give to the community.

    "Seeing them be able to build an entire house and then seeing someone come up and go, 'You all did that' and they say, 'Yes, we did that,' is amazing," Hall said. "It's a great motivating factor."

    Jane Gonzalez, the youngest participant at 16, says YouthBuild is a foundation for a new path. The teachers and staff are supportive and motivating. She has already earned her OSHA certification and wants to be an architect.

    "Traditional schools focus on specific students, but YouthBuild focuses on everyone," Gonzalez said. "The instructors here are more than teachers they are mentors and like family."

    Jeremiah Lewis, another YouthBuild participant, said he has learned a lot and is now interested in joining the military.

    "When you come here, you are not stressed about anything," Lewis said. "The last thing on your mind is the outside world. Here you are with family and you know for a fact that they have your back."