The Fort Wayne Housing Authority YouthBuild Program

By Rohli Booker
FWIS Contributing Writer

The Fort Wayne Housing Authority was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Labor to spark the untapped potential of the youth in the community. “Third time’s the charm.” Sara Smith, Chief Operating Officer at FWHA, says with a smile referencing the number of times that FWHA has applied for this grant. The grant provides between $700K and $1.5M to organizations to build out and administer a YouthBuild program in their communities. There are hundreds of YouthBuild programs around the nation, but very few grants are awarded to housing authorities. Dana Christian, FWHA Program Manager, believes the housing authority is a great place to have a program of this nature. “I was really excited to see the Fort Wayne Housing Authority actually going for the grant and administering it because I think it’s perfect for us.”

The YouthBuild program is an initiative that provides support and training to youth ages 16-24 who do not have stable housing and have not obtained a high school diploma or high school equivalency. This program will provide assistance to young people in areas of our city that have low median income, low graduation rates and high unemployment.

Youth who enroll in this program will receive wraparound services to provide them the support necessary to succeed in the program and in life. Denita Washington, Director of Programming for the FWHA, shared that FWHA is working on identifying and eliminating the barriers that existed and prevented them from graduating. Members will receive a weekly stipend, tuition free job training, bonuses for attendance, paid work experience and other assistance to address barriers including lack of transportation and lack of daycare. Members will also be given priority on the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Waiting Lists. The FWHA was able to look at its policies and offer housing as an incentive to participants in the program. “One thing that we know that is critical to success is the housing first model,” Smith says. “We can’t really expect folks to focus on their education, their health, their employment, their career building if they don’t have a place to lay their head at night.”

Participants of the YouthBuild program, referred to as members, will complete the 6-month program in cohorts. Each cohort will have up to 24 members which will allow FWHA to graduate 4 cohorts, and up to 96 members, during the life of the grant.

All members will complete HSE instruction, hands-on construction training and learn life and leadership skills. While the work skills training focuses largely on teaching members construction skills that they will use to build or remodel a home, members will also have the opportunity to earn additional skill certifications. The program will provide exposure to industries and apprenticeship pathways that are in high demand in Northeast Indiana. This year instruction will be provided to give members the option to obtain CNA and NCCER healthcare certifications in addition to the construction pathway. Smith says that it is possible that as the program grows, certifications in other industries such as IT and Hospitality may be added.  Members will receive job placements, paid tuition to further education, supportive services and case management up to a year after completing the program.

The leadership team at FWHA believes that the success of the program will come from it’s ability to address each member in a wholistic way. Creative programming and strong community partnerships will allow them to integrate housing, education, career experience, life skills and leadership skills in a very impactful way. Washington’s advice to potential program members is to trust the process. “If you can just jump this one time and trust a different journey, we’re going to help to support you.”

FWHA is looking for community partners to help provide members with meals while they are participating in the program.

For more information about how you can help support this program or to apply to become a member of YouthBuild Fort Wayne, Email: youthbuild@fwha.org.