YouthBuild Providence receives $1.1M federal grant

YOUTHBUILD Providence participants, from left to right, Richard Bridges, Lionel Brown, Karan Sol and Cesar Ramirez, are seen working on a project in this file photo from 2011. The program received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, legislators announced Thursday. / PBN FILE PHOTO/NATALJA KENT
YOUTHBUILD Providence participants, from left to right, Richard Bridges, Lionel Brown, Karan Sol and Cesar Ramirez, are seen working on a project in this file photo from 2011. The program received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, legislators announced Thursday. / PBN FILE PHOTO/NATALJA KENT

PROVIDENCE – A $1.1 million U.S. Department of Labor grant has been awarded to YouthBuild Providence to provide at-risk young Rhode Islanders education and job skills.

U.S. Sens. Jack F. Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Reps. James R. Langevin and David N. Cicilline, along with Patrick McGuigan, executive director of the Providence Plan and Anthony Hubbard, ProvPlan’s YouthBuild director, made the announcement on Thursday.

YouthBuild Providence, part of the Providence Plan, provides vocational training and academic opportunities for students who have dropped out of mainstream education.

The program helps students earn their diploma or GED while working on neighborhood construction projects.

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YouthBuild Providence will use the federal funding over a two-year period. A third year will be used for follow up, to help provide at least 64 disadvantaged youth, ages 16 to 24, with academic training and on-site work experience, leadership and community service opportunities.

“YouthBuild’s innovative programs help young people further their education and learn new job skills while giving back to the community. This is truly a model program that makes a real difference for young people and strengthens Rhode Island’s workforce,” Reed said in a statement.

McGuigan said the grant represents “a real vote of confidence in the good work of YouthBuild Providence for the past 18 years.”

“The funding enables us to provide high-quality educational and training opportunities for young people in our urban communities. This represents the best investment we can make in our future, and I want to thank our congressional delegation for their long-standing support of YouthBuild Providence,” he said.

YouthBuild Providence is leveraging the Department of Labor grant with approximately $576,000 in matching and other resources.

More than 480 students have helped build 18 units of affordable housing since YouthBuild Providence began in 1997.

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