YouthBuild Schenectady AmeriCorps, based in Schenectady, New York, provides enormous impact in the service area of economic opportunity. YouthBuild AmeriCorps programs engage low-income out-of-school youth age 16-24. Members work toward a high school diploma or GED while serving their communities by building affordable housing for homeless and low-income residents. YouthBuild Schenectady is an exemplary AmeriCorps program because of its dedication to building quality affordable housing and because of its commitment to the members’ future through career training and placement.

YouthBuild Schenectady serves at-risk youth in Schenectady’s Hamilton Hill/Vale neighborhood, a community with poverty, unemployment and dropout rates three times higher than national figures. YouthBuild AmeriCorps is a vital tool in rebuilding this community: (1) At-risk high school dropouts obtain a GED, reducing the high percent of dropouts (62%). (2) Unemployed youth receive employment training, lowering the high percent of the unemployed in Hamilton Hill/Vale (ranges from 9% - 16%). (3) Poverty is combated by providing young men and women with jobs. Poverty rates among people age 18 and older range from 27% to 62%, two to nearly five times the national rate of 12%.

In addition to providing these necessary functions, YouthBuild Schenectady AmeriCorps program develops and cultivates a commitment to service in its young people. As they build skills and set goals, they also learn to identify and address community need through service learning and building affordable housing.  Constructing affordable housing is the members’ primary service activity. YouthBuild Schenectady AmeriCorps takes seriously its charge to provide the members with job skills while impacting the community. The members receive certification from The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) in construction elements, and the houses they build or rehabilitate are ENERGY STAR rated, making them 15%-30% more energy efficient than a standard home. These skills will serve them well in our emerging green economy.

When it comes to career development, the program truly shines. The program has a unique partnership with a local community college that allows members to take some GED preparation classes on campus, with a college instructor. This partnership introduces to the students the idea that they could go to college, something that most of them have never considered. Program staff completes career assessments with members and organizes career exploration workshops, as well as college admission and financial aid workshops. Members complete a job readiness course and develop Life Plans, which include identifying career goals. The program has developed a successful career mentoring program by partnering with local businesses, as well as a post-program internship program that allows members to maintain contact with and support of the program while exploring career opportunities. The program’s post-program placement of members in educational opportunities or jobs is 82%!