YouthBuild North Central
West Virginia - YouthBuild North Central
Workforce Success Story Submitted By: WorkForce West Virginia
Workforce Challenge
The Randolph County Housing Authority (RCHA) provides job training and alternative education activities for at-risk out-of-school youth through YouthBuild North Central (YBNC), a comprehensive youth and community development program. The program focuses on alternative education, an emphasis on in-demand occupations for the state service region and the recruitment of the neediest youth, such high school dropouts and court-involved individuals. RCHA was awarded a 2009-2010 Governor’s Discretionary State Set-Aside Grant with a promised outcome to train and obtain employment for eleven people.
Workforce Solution
The classes provided by the RCHA YouthBuild program include Adult Basic Education and Green Technology along with on-the-job construction training. The RCHA YouthBuild program has four distinctive sites which includes “The Daniels House”, involving installing insulation in the attic and basement, sealing heating ducts, insulating plumbing lines, and weatherizing and refinishing doors and windows. Another worksite, "Arbogast Building", is transforming a garage purchased by a domestic violence shelter - Women’s Aid In Crisis Center, - into apartments for transitional living. Also, with assistance from the RCHA and the trainers, "The Delmonte Hotel", an old three-story building, has been restored as a restaurant in the first floor, office space on the second floor, and apartments on the third floor.
Outcomes & Benefits
As a result of involvement with the YouthBuild program, some of the students have identified educational and career goals -- something that may not have happened without YouthBuild. Some of these goals include attending college or becoming a police officer with a K-9 unit. All the students had very positive remarks about participating in the program. They all stated they have learned many skills, and enjoyed the variety of performing different tasks. The daily schedule of classes and work has had a stabilizing effect in changing their lives.
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