DREAMS Youthbuild members meet with Senator Montgomery and Assemblywoman Walker to discuss the program's pathway of success for young people in New York State

As part of Youthbuild Advocacy Day in Albany, members of DREAMS Youthbuild meet with Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Assemblywoman Latrice Walker to discuss how this nationally renowned youth program has transformed their lives. Senator Montgomery is a longtime proponent of the Youthbuild program and has urged legislative leaders to appropriate $1 million in support of Youthbuild programs in the 2018-19 budget. 

DREAMS Youthbuild students have worked on the construction of SUNY's Advanced Technology Training and Information Networking (ATTAIN) Lab at the St. John's Place Family Center located at 1604 St. Johns Place (between Buffalo and Ralph Aves) in Crown Heights, Brooklyn as well as assisted in the construction of Settlement Housing Fund's​ affordable housing projects. 

YouthBuild is a comprehensive youth employment program that focuses on education, job training, leadership development, community service and the cultivation of life skills for young adults in New York State.  Youthbuild engages low-income, out-of-school youth for a two-year, all-inclusive process to earn high school equivalency (HSE), acquire job skills, certifications, and leadership competencies. Youthbuild is also one of the most effective and successful youth diversion programs in New York State.

YouthBuild provides opportunities for follow-up, placement services and stipends to out-of-school, out-of-work youth, aged 16-24, as well as ongoing placement services and support for thousands of YouthBuild alumni. YouthBuild students also receive vocational training and certifications, including construction, green industry training, OSHA, CPR, building maintenance, IT, health care, security, barista (Starbucks), food-handlers certification, retail and hospitality, etc. Additionally, Youthbuild students deliver hundreds of hours of community service while producing and preserving affordable housing in their communities. Since 1994, 41,000 units of affordable housing have been produced or upgraded by 150,000 YouthBuild students across the US. Over 5,000 of those students have been New Yorkers.

To learn more about Senator Montgomery's work with Youthbuild, visit:

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/senator-montgomery-and-senate-democratic-conference-call-101

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/dreams-youthbuild-lobby-day-albany

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/state-senator-velmanette-montgomerys-legislative-report

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/senator-montgomery-celebrates-opening-brooklyns-newest-suny

To learn more about Senator Montgomery's Youthbuild legislation, visit https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/s3738/amendment/original

For more information about the DREAMS Youthbuild, call 718.455.4308 or visit http://www.settlementhousingfund.org/dreams_youthbuild.html

For more information about the NYS YouthBuild Coalition, contact: Bonnie Landi, Chair, NYS YouthBuild Coalition: 845/339-2757, or ymcayb.landi@gmail.com