Labor Department cuts funding for YMHA YouthBuild program

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority’s YouthBuild program has lost its U.S. Department of Labor funding for the coming year, but the authority is determined to continue the education and home-building activity.

The program has meant the difference between success and failure for low-income young adults, local participants and graduates said in testimonials.

“Without YouthBuild, I’d probably be in jail or dead,” said Robert Reed of Youngstown, a 2010 YouthBuild graduate. Reed, who dropped out of high school at 15 and later obtained his General Equivalency Diploma, is now a business student at Youngstown State University. “I’m living on a positive track. Please save YouthBuild,” he urged.

For the past 10 years, the program here has offered at-risk participants an opportunity to obtain a GED and learn construction and leadership skills as they build and rehabilitate housing for low-income families.

The YMHA program was funded from 2001 to 2007 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and by the Labor Department since 2007.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com