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Mission and Philosophy
The mission of YouthBuild is to unleash the intelligence and positive
energy of low-income youth to rebuild their communities and their lives.
YouthBuild seeks to join with others in order to build a movement toward a more just society in which respect, love, responsibility, and cooperation are the dominant unifying values, and sufficient opportunities are available for all people in all communities to fulfill their own potential and contribute to the well-being of others.
YouthBuild gives young people between the ages of 16 and 24 the chance to turn their life around. Programs offer a unique combination of academic instruction and workforce development training. Young people work to attain their GED or high school diploma while learning valuable job skills in the construction industry. Students spend one week in the classroom followed by one week on a job site building or renovating affordable housing in their communities. This approach allows students to develop important workforce and academic skills while they enrich their communities.
The Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition provides resources for its member programs in the following areas; peer support and evaluation, technical assistance, coordination of statewide events, and application for State Line Item or other sources of funding. It also facilitates cross-program collaboration and sharing of best practices.Ultimately, YouthBuild does not change the young people it serves. Rather, it gives them the tools to change not only their own lives but their communities as well. YouthBuild firmly believes that by empowering its students, true community change can be accomplished.
YouthBuild seeks to join with others in order to build a movement toward a more just society in which respect, love, responsibility, and cooperation are the dominant unifying values, and sufficient opportunities are available for all people in all communities to fulfill their own potential and contribute to the well-being of others.
YouthBuild gives young people between the ages of 16 and 24 the chance to turn their life around. Programs offer a unique combination of academic instruction and workforce development training. Young people work to attain their GED or high school diploma while learning valuable job skills in the construction industry. Students spend one week in the classroom followed by one week on a job site building or renovating affordable housing in their communities. This approach allows students to develop important workforce and academic skills while they enrich their communities.
The Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition provides resources for its member programs in the following areas; peer support and evaluation, technical assistance, coordination of statewide events, and application for State Line Item or other sources of funding. It also facilitates cross-program collaboration and sharing of best practices.Ultimately, YouthBuild does not change the young people it serves. Rather, it gives them the tools to change not only their own lives but their communities as well. YouthBuild firmly believes that by empowering its students, true community change can be accomplished.
The Scope of the Problem
**The dropout crisis is real**
Nearly 10,000 young people in the state of Massachusetts leave school without a high school diploma or GED credential each year. Based on the latest data (2010) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an individual 25 or older holding a high school diploma or GED is 54% more likely to be unemployed than an individual who does not. Additionally, those holding a diploma or GED earn 28% more salary on average each week (2009 data).
The impact of this crisis is felt not just on an individual or even community-wide level. State and national resources provide a band-aid fix for the needs of individuals and communities affected by the crisis, but do not address the obstacles to economic self-sufficiency that are necessary for true reformation and success.
Each year, more than 2,000 young people apply to MYBC programs, ready and willing to rebuild their lives and their communities. They know that YouthBuild programs open doors by empowering people to advocate for themselves. They have seen this in the lives of their friends and peers who have gone through the YouthBuild program and know, through them, that these success stories are possible. Unfortunately, Coalition programs have the capacity and funding to serve only about 350 of these applicants.
All of the young people who apply to our programs recognize that, at YouthBuild, they will find staff eager to invest time and energy in addressing the obstacles to self-sufficiency that they—and their communities—must overcome. Most importantly, they understand that these opportunities are available to them not because of what they do not have, but because of who they have the potential to become.
Nearly 10,000 young people in the state of Massachusetts leave school without a high school diploma or GED credential each year. Based on the latest data (2010) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an individual 25 or older holding a high school diploma or GED is 54% more likely to be unemployed than an individual who does not. Additionally, those holding a diploma or GED earn 28% more salary on average each week (2009 data).
The impact of this crisis is felt not just on an individual or even community-wide level. State and national resources provide a band-aid fix for the needs of individuals and communities affected by the crisis, but do not address the obstacles to economic self-sufficiency that are necessary for true reformation and success.
Each year, more than 2,000 young people apply to MYBC programs, ready and willing to rebuild their lives and their communities. They know that YouthBuild programs open doors by empowering people to advocate for themselves. They have seen this in the lives of their friends and peers who have gone through the YouthBuild program and know, through them, that these success stories are possible. Unfortunately, Coalition programs have the capacity and funding to serve only about 350 of these applicants.
All of the young people who apply to our programs recognize that, at YouthBuild, they will find staff eager to invest time and energy in addressing the obstacles to self-sufficiency that they—and their communities—must overcome. Most importantly, they understand that these opportunities are available to them not because of what they do not have, but because of who they have the potential to become.
