YouthBuild students complete renovation

The students learn a skilled trade and the benefits of hard work.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — YouthBuild students and teachers celebrated the completed renovation of a house at 2696 Wick St. by grilling some burgers and passing out tool belts.

Using donations from local businesses and government money, the work-study program turned the rundown, vacant house into a handicapped-accessible home, teaching 34 at-risk students carpentry and other construction skills in the process.

The students, ages 16 to 24, come from Life Skills of Trumbull County and other General Educational Development programs and include single mothers such as Brenda Jones, 17, of Warren, and Raquel Mostella, 19, of Girard.

Mostella said Friday she’s learning a trade and earning her GED to better herself for her 3-year-old son. She said she’s taking advantage of a chance “most kids don’t get to have.”

The two students said they’d like to continue in carpentry careers. Jones received a tool belt and hard hat as a symbol of completing one stage of her training.

They also expressed thanks to their teachers, especially Jolene Baldado, the administrator who works behind the scenes at YouthBuild, whom they credit with keeping them from failing.

Baldado said YouthBuild students have struggled with drugs or fights at school, but the drama doesn’t follow them when they come to learn a trade and the value of hard work.

James Howell is a YouthBuild case manager and teacher. He said students often work two or three jobs in addition to the 36 hours a week at YouthBuild, which pays $7 an hour. Howell said their hard work shows since attendance is not mandatory.

Baldado suggested that this may be the most valuable lesson of the project.

“You start the program and you finish,” she said, adding that she won’t let her students take the easy way out. “We make it a real job,” she said, “with all the responsibilities that come with it.”

YouthBuild helps students beyond the construction site, finding apprenticeships or helping college-bound students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or register to take the American College Test.

Michael Moore, 18, of Niles, said renovation projects such as Wick Street make helping the community fun. Referred to Life Skills by his principal, he’s now looking at applying to Slippery Rock University and other colleges.

In addition to class time, YouthBuild students learn construction inside and out, from roofing, siding and windows to installing ceiling fans and drywall.

Construction manager Joel Goldberg said making the house handicapped-accessible was a challenge in only 700 square feet. The wheelchair ramp in the front doubles as a porch.

The house also features hardwood floors and a bathroom with a lowered sink and sit-down shower. Goldberg started as a subcontractor five years ago.

Baldado emphasized the importance of support from local businesses and contractors. “Without them, we are nothing,” she said.

Carpenters Local Union 171 works with the program, giving in-kind services and teaching students. The Home Depot of Austintown gave discounts that saved $1,000, and Lowe’s of Niles donated a $500 gift card. Vista Window Co. of Warren donated all the windows, and many other supplies such as mulch and a grab bar for the bathroom were gifts.