The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) awarded $600,000 in Youthbuild grants to four community organizations across the state, including Workforce Development Inc, which serves Faribault, Northfield, and the surrounding area.

“This important program gives struggling teens a chance to learn critical career skills, build confidence, and develop a sense of purpose that may have been missing,” Senator Bill Lieske (R-Lonsdale) said. “It is great for these kids and great for our communities.”

The funds will provide job training and work experience to approximately 100 at-risk young people ages 16-24 as they build or renovate affordable housing units in their local communities. The grants are intended to serve young people who are economically disadvantaged or otherwise eligible for the state’s Graduation Incentives Program, established to assist at-risk youth.

Workforce Development, Inc. received $150,000 to serve young people who have dropped out of high school or are at risk of doing so in that region.

Participants will get hands-on construction training while renovating 10 affordable housing units to be completed by June 2025. They’ll also build community projects like picnic tables, community garden planters, and water pipe insulation boxes for manufactured homes.

The other three grantees are Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota which primarily the Midway and Eastside neighborhoods of St. Paul and north Minneapolis; The Man Up Club, which primarily downtown and north Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park and the Eastside neighborhood of St. Paul; and the Riverside Plaza Tenants’ Association, which serves the Cedar-Riverside area of Minneapolis.

Youthbuild participants across all sites will engage in construction-based job training and work experience, employment preparation, career planning and exploration services, support to earn a diploma or GED, leadership development, counseling and case management, and job placement assistance with follow-up support for 12 months after completing the program.

In addition to affordable housing, Youthbuild participants will construct approximately 20 other projects such as picnic tables, community garden planters and water pipe insulation boxes for manufactured homes.