Northshore Magazine

Northshore September 2015

Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.

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82 | SEPTEMBER 2015 nshoremag.com in-depth LIVE sary by doing the same work it's done all along: building homes and changing lives. YouthBuild began in 1978, when founder and CEO Dorothy Stone- man organized young people in East Harlem, New York, to renovate a dilapidated tenement building. Today, YouthBuild USA, a national nonprofit headquartered in Somer- ville, Massachusetts, supports 260 Program members collaborate at one of the Lawrence work sites. local programs in the United States, fueled with funds from government agencies and private supporters. The specifics of each independently operating program vary by loca- tion, but the population is the same: 16- to 24-year-olds who are escaping hardship, whether it's an abusive home, substance abuse, a criminal past, or unemployment (93 percent lack a high school diploma). "The overarching mission of YouthBuild USA is to unleash the intelligence and positive energy of low-income youth to rebuild their communi- ties and their own lives at the same time," says Eva Blake, senior direc- tor of Green Initiatives at Youth- Build USA. And while some YouthBuild programs offer studies in healthcare and technology, construction is a

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