Easterseals Serving Greater Cincinnati ... Ester Seals Tristate
,
Easterseals Youth Construction Pathway (YCP)
Grant Application:
Easterseals’ Youth Construction Pathway (YCP) empowers at-risk youth of color who lack a high school diploma, job experience, or career prospects to escape a lifetime of poverty and unemployment. The program’s game-changing approach provides at-risk youth with the education, experience and qualifications necessary to attain their GED and a well-paid job in the construction industry – one of the most in-demand yet under-represented industries for people of color. Through YCP, students are empowered to succeed academically at their own pace while learning the value of dedication, accountability and hard work.
This year through YCP, 220 youth will attain their GED, engage in education and career exploration, and gain paid, practical hands-on training, experience and credentials in the construction industry. The program rehabs and builds affordable housing for low-income families in the neighborhood and uses revenues generated from the sale of the property to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program.
Grant Evaluation Report:
Thanks to the continued support of the Charles H. Dater Foundation, Easterseals’ Youth Construction Pathway supported the dreams of 220 of the city’s most disadvantaged youth. The program broke down barriers to education and employment for at-risk youth by providing rigorous training, experience and credentials sought after by the construction industry. Through the Youth Construction Program, participants have improved literacy and numeracy rates, attained their GED, developed critical foundational employability skills, and achieved NCCER, NCRC, PACT, OSHA-10 and CPR Certifications.
Just as importantly through the Youth Construction Pathway, at-risk youth learned the value of hard work, dedication and personal accountability – all while helping to improve the community. In 2021, Easterseals began rehabilitation of a dilapidated property and began the construction of a modular home which will be sold to low-income families. The modular home will be put on the market in early February for presale to a low-income family. The dilapidated property is still under rehab, as delays in acquiring permits had stalled progress in 2022, and Easterseals is in discussion to make the house a long-term training site for our program participants.
This part of the program was amazingly transformative for our youth – as they worked on the house, they worked on bettering themselves. Program youth became increasingly aware and proud of their community and invested in its success.
YCP graduates are now receiving 12 months follow-up services from Easterseals to ensure that they keep progressing along their pathway to success. Many participants have already found employment, and several have been placed in the Construction Collaborative hosted by Messer Construction. This collaborative offers participants multiple job trials with different sub-contractors in all areas of the construction industry. Messer Construction is one of Ohio’s largest construction companies and created the Collaborative as an exclusive industry connection for ESGC graduates.
Through the Construction Collaborative, Easterseals YCP graduates have also enrolled in the Uptown Workforce Development Initiative – a collaboration between Easterseals, Messer and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. This initiative is dedicated to employing local, economically impoverished individuals in order to lift them and their families out of poverty.
Amount: $30,000
Date: June 2022
