A year ago, the house at 551 Emily Street in Lansing was an unlivable eyesore.
Today, it’s waiting for a new owner to move in, thanks to the work of a nonprofit partnership called
YouthBuild.
The program trains high school drop-outs the craft of carpentry and home renovation while giving them a second chance at an education.
The Emily Street home is around 800 square feet and has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, says Brindley Byrd, program director. It’s the first of an expected five that YouthBuild participants will renovate while attending classes at
Lansing Community College.The program hosted an open house July 15 to show off the refurbished home. A second is expected to be finished by the end of summer, Byrd said.
“Our mission in YouthBuild is to give these young people the chance to restart,” Byrd says. “They now know they can do it. They can be successful in college, and they can fix something. They can take a house and turn it into a home.”
Of the roughly 20 teens and young adults who worked on the Emily Street home, 16 earned a certificate of completion from LCC, Byrd said. Seven or eight earned a GED.
YouthBuild is a cooperative program among
Capital Area Michigan Works! and the
Ingham County Land Bank, which donated the homes to be renovated.
The renovated homes will now be put on the market for low-income buyers.
Source: Brindley Byrd, Capital Area Michigan Works!
Writer: Louise Knott Ahern
Photo: Andrea Kerbuski
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