TRUMBULL COUNTY Building program halted

The youth program previously received both local and federal funding.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Youthbuild of Trumbull County will shut down for at least six months because of a loss of federal funding.
The program, which offers young adults ages 16 to 24 experience in the building trades and another chance at a high school education, plans to move out of its offices after graduating a class of 17 next week, director Tony Perrone said.
Five full-time program employees will be left without jobs, and there are no immediate plans for another class for the nine-month program, he said. Youthbuild offers participants classroom instruction and job-site experience on construction projects.
Youthbuild has renovated 21 housing units since 1995, Perrone said.
"It is not going to go under," said Perrone, the remaining employee and also director of special projects for the Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority. "We are going to continue."
Planned changes
When Youthbuild starts up again, it will likely be smaller, with perhaps 10 students, and operate out of a TMHA property, he said.
Changes are also being envisioned to offer program graduates more services, he said.
Youthbuild had been running on a roughly $500,000 annual budget, half of which came from a HUD grant the program first received in 1998. An application for the grant last year was turned down.
"The program has been around since 1995, and it has always operated on local money," he said. "We are going to start up with changes to the program next year."
The local sources of money include foundations and Trumbull County Job and Family Services, he said.
"I, personally, poured my heart into the program," said Joel Goldberg, a carpenter and instructor for Youthbuild. "When you pour your heart into something, and next thing you know it is all said and done, it is disappointing."
The program is giving up its space at the Woods House, a historic home on Mahoning Avenue, where participants had built an addition to the back for work space, he said.
Youthbuild moved into the Woods House last summer because it had outgrown its building on East Market Street, Perrone said. About 50 young adults apply for the program every year.
"I learned a lot," said Donte' May, 23, who will graduate from Youthbuild next week. "It is good to have something for the people who want to take part. It is keeping them out of trouble."