Illinois YouthBuild Projects

Calvin MurphyAllied Radon Services, Inc

Patrick DanielsIEMA Radon Program ManagerChair, CRCPD Committee on Radon

About YouthBuild

• There are at least 2.3 million low-income 16-24 year-olds in the United States who are not in education, employment, or training.

• YouthBuild programs in the United States provide pathways for low-income young people learn construction skills through building affordable housing for homeless and low-income people in their neighborhoods and other community assets such as schools, playgrounds, and community centers.

Youth Build History

1978 Initial Youth Build project was in Harlem, New York in 1978. The project rehabbed an abandoned ten unit tenement building.

1984 A citywide coalition of 500 organizations persuaded the New York City Council to replicate the program. It won city tax-levy funds for six non-profits to establish YouthBuild programs in their neighborhoods.

1992 Legislation authorizing the federal YouthBuild program passed. Program based in HUD.

2006 Program transferred to Department of Labor.

Youth Build History

2014 YouthBuild USA has 260 urban and rural programs in 46 states.

YouthBuild programs sponsored and managed by local nonprofits, community colleges, and public agencies.

YouthBuild programs primary funding source is the US Department of Labor through the Employment and Training Administration.

How YouthBuild Works

The YouthBuild program has five components: construction, education, counseling, leadership, and graduate opportunity. Students spend every other week on a job site, learning the construction trade by building homes for their own communities. This creates housing for low-income people, and also gives the students marketable job skills. The alternate weeks are spent on education in the YouthBuild classroom, with the goal of attaining a GED or completing their high school diploma.

Wikipedia

United State Department of Labor

• April 2015, Department of Labor announces YouthBuild grants totaling $76M available to help at-risk youth complete education, develop job and leadership skills.

Illinois YouthBuild Programs

YouthBuild Rockford - RockfordYCC YouthBuild Waukegan - WaukeganYouthBuild Lake County – North ChicagoYouthBuild Humboldt Park - ChicagoPrologue Youthbuild - ChicagoDr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School- ChicagoWindy City YouthBuild - ChicagoYouth Connection Leadership Academy- ChicagoChicago Southland YouthBuild - HarveyYouthBuild Quad Cities – Rock IslandPeoria YouthBuild - PeoriaYouthBuild McLean County - NormalHomework Hangout Youthbuild - DecaturBuilding Futures YouthBuild - GodfreyTomorrow's Builders YouthBuild Charter School – East St LouisYouthBuild of Jefferson County – Mount VernonDelta Center YouthBuild - Cairo

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)

• Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced on April 15, 2014, $3,398,444 in capital funding to provide residential weatherization services to eligible homeowners across the state as part of the Urban Weatherization Initiative (UWI). UWI is the nation’s first state-funded weatherization program and one of the largest job creation initiatives to date for urban communities in Illinois.

• Comprehensive Community Solutions (CCS) receives $1,000,000 Grant to provide Residential Weatherization Services to residents in the Rockford area.

• The funds will allow approximately 65 homes per year for two years to receive needed energy efficiency upgrades.

Weatherization and Radon• The American Lung Association has partnered with YouthBuild

Rockford to provide radon measurement and where needed mitigation as part of a State Indoor Radon Grant project with the USEPA and IEMA.

• IEMA made available $65,000 for radon measurement and mitigation activities.

Youth Build Pilot ProjectApril and May 2015

Mt Vernon, IL

Mt Vernon Youth Build Program

Project Partners

• United Methodist Children’s Home – Ryan Alton• US EPA – Susie Shimek• IEMA – Patrick Daniels, Melinda Lewis• Florida Radon Program – Clark Eldredge • Allied Radon Services, Inc – Calvin Murphy

Project Objective

Determine if Youth Build program is a means to train youth as potential radon mitigation technicians.

The Program

•The American Lung Association mitigation course will be the source of classroom material taught to the students.

•We will alternate between classroom lecture and a house being rehabbed in Mt Vernon.

The Program

• After completion of classroom and field training including diagnostics and system installation, students will take state licensing exam.

• House has been gutted and day light is visible in parts of the house. Cannot maintain closed house conditions to get an accurate radon measurement prior to installation of an active system. After rehab is completed, will perform measurements with system running and then turn system off, cap the stack and retest.

Project Time Frame

• Anticipate class of 4 to 8 students.

• Beginning April 28 and plan to complete by end of May.

• Estimate house was built in 1950’s.

• Basement with small crawl.

• Will perform diagnostics to determine anticipated number of suction points.

• Will leave communication test holes open until system installed to determine that communication exists under slab.

• House basically has what would be encountered in mitigation system installation except for sump pump.

About the Home

Ultimate Goal

• If program is successful and students pass the Illinois Licensing exam, hope to expand the program to other Youth Build programs and train students to work as mitigation technicians either in Illinois or in other states.

• If it is determined that the students cannot pass the licensure exam, could the program be modified to provide the radon industry with a supply of mitigation laborers?

Questions?