Our local YouthBuild program held its annual high school graduation last week, sending nine students off with a bit more than a diploma.

Community Action Partnership YouthBuild puts at-risk students typically between the ages of 16 and 24 part time in the classroom and part time out in the field, learning construction trades.

Projects the students tackle include new housing and rehab projects for low-income families. Participants spend alternate weeks in the classroom and out in the field.

The local program, (the national YouthBuild program has 225 programs across 44 states) began in 1995 and partners with Burbank Housing. Projects have included Hollyhock Mutual Self-Help Homes and Sequoia Village in Sebastopol. Students have also worked on landscaping with the Santa Rosa Neighborhood Revitalization Coalition and low income senior homes through Rebuilding Together, according to organizers.

Hazel Whiteoak, volunteer coordinator with Community Action Partnership said the April 29 graduation ceremony was stirring, as nine grads earned diplomas.

“It’s truly moving,” she said. “It turns their lives around. They become leaders in their community.”

Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo was the ceremony’s speaker.

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