Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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SEPTEMBER 2015 nshoremag.com | 81 photographs by Katie Noble BY JEFF HARDER YouthBuild affords opportunities for Lawrence's underprivileged population. From the Ground Up When students first arrive at YouthBuild Lawrence's headquarters at 355 Haverhill Street, they usually come bearing a lifetime of hardship. Some were raised in abusive families and did stints in the foster care system. Some once sold drugs before spending time behind bars. Still others were defeated by learning dis- abilities their teachers and schools were poorly equipped to handle. And considering where many of YouthBuild's new arrivals expected to end up, the changes they make are all the more remarkable. "When they come into the program, and we ask them, 'Where do you see yourself in the future?' so many of them, unfortunately, say that they see themselves either dead or in jail," says April Lyskowsky, the program's director. "After they graduate from YouthBuild, they start to care about themselves and they want to do something with their lives. They find hope." YouthBuild USA provides educa- tion, job skills, and real-world work experience to teens and young adults who need it most. Around the country, YouthBuild partici- pants have built and rehabilitated more than 28,000 units of afford- able housing. On the North Shore, the local YouthBuild Lawrence program marks its 20th anniver-