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Larson Announces Community Renewal Team To Receive Recovery Act Funding to Create Youthbuild Program

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 8, 2009

CONTACT: Paul Mounds 860-278-8888

Larson Announces Community Renewal Team To Receive Recovery Act Funding to Create Youthbuild Program

Funding Will Create Second Youthbuild Program in Hartford

Hartford, CT- U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) announced that the Community Renewal Team, Inc. (CRT) will receive $463,620 in Recovery Act funding to develop an education and workforce training program for  youth ages 18-24. This funding will create the Capital City Youthbuild Program, the second YouthBuild program in Hartford to help at risk youth. Through the Recovery Act, seventy-five community organizations nationwide, in addition to CRT, will receive funding to support current or new YouthBuild programs. 

The Youthbuild Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, assists youth ages 16-24 in earning their diploma or GED and providing them with job training opportunities. Youthbuild participants also construct or rehabilitate affordable housing for low income or homeless families in the program's home based community. Participants in the Capital City Youthbuild program will assist in rehabilitating two abandoned properties into affordable housing for low -income families in the Northend of Hartford.

In the classroom and on the construction site, YouthBuild prepares young adults for college and a career while developing them into positive community leaders and role models.

 "I am proud to announce CRT has received Recovery Act funding to establish a new YouthBuild program in Hartford. CRT, under the leadership of Lena Rodriquez, has truly been a partner in breaking the cycle of poverty and its inevitable consequences within our urban communities," said Congressman Larson. "The Recovery Act is working here in Connecticut and across the nation with targeted investments to grow and restore our economy. The YouthBuild funding announcement for CRT represents a critical investment in our nation's greatest asset, our youth.  And through its education and job training programs, Youthbuild continues to serve as a preeminent national program for empowering our inner city youth to become tomorrow's leaders."

Lena Rodriquez, President and CEO of CRT said, "We are very happy to be establishing a YouthBuild program in North Hartford. This program brings together a particularly strong group of partners, including the Hartford Housing Authority and the Carpenters Union. It will have a long-term effect by improving the housing stock in Hartford; helping youth move onto a career ladder with a future; and improving their families' financial stability. Considering the unemployment rate of Hartford youth in general -- and disconnected youth in particular -- CRT's YouthBuild will offer a much-needed positive career path."

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