Houses on the Hilltop for At-risk Youths in the Pittsburgh Neighborhoods

The OJJDP FY 09 Earmarks Programs further the Department's mission by providing grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, to organizations identified in the Explanatory Statement Regarding H.R. 1105 (Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009), 155 Cong. Rec. H1653 (daily ed. Feb. 23, 2009) (statement by Rep. Obey, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of the House).

The Brashear Association will work with the 'Houses on the Hilltop' in South Pittsburgh neighborhoods to teach disadvantaged and at-risk youth the value of work on a real home renovation and construction site, as it is the hope to provide inspiration and guidance onto positive life paths. The major goals of Houses on the Hilltop will be to provide youth with useful career training in the fields of construction and the trades while at the same time decreasing the number of blighted properties in South Pittsburgh neighborhoods and reinvesting in these communities. With the guidance of active or retired trade union members, the youth will go through the preparation of the selected property, the implementation of renovation in all phases from framing to wiring and plumbing, and finally the observation of the sale process for the property. Furthermore, as these youth develop and apply useful skills and embark on their careers, it is the intent that crime rate reduction and educational advancement will follow. These results will be born from the sense of neighborhood pride and community investment that those who participate in the program will develop as tangible results of their time working on projects that better the community and improve opportunities for living wage employment. All participation will be documented with the number and percentage who completed the program; behavioral improvement and graduation and/or GED. NCA/NCF