5/10/2010

Hard at work building a home that will soon house a low income Central Oregon family, students with YouthBuild. A program organized by Heart of Oregon Corps to serve disconnected teenagers like Jeremiah Leach from Madras.

"It's helped me pick up my attitude, I've gotten help with my anger issues. I'm actually going back to school, I got my driver's license and I got a new car for doing good. Now I get to go to college and my future is bigger than it was," says Leach.

Jeremiah and his friends raising the walls with the help of community leaders Monday in Redmond.

The program made possible with a grant from the Department of Labor.

"Young people who need assistance getting forward in the right step in life. Maybe they're low income, drop out status, have had other barriers and are really looking for the right thing to move forward and this house is a big part of that," says Laura Handy with Heart of Oregon Corps.

The 36 students ages 16-24 learn trade skills while working toward their High School diploma or GED, while earning a paycheck.

"They've really progressed not only out here in the field but also in the classroom, they're making quite a few gains also," says Randy Price the YouthBuild Manager for the Redmond School District.

Two lots were purchased in Redmond for the YouthBuild Program.

For Jeremiah he says, it's more than what he's gaining personally, it's what he's giving back.

"We're helping a family get in and knowing that they'll be good cause be built it right," says Leach