When Settlement Housing Fund acquired two housing projects on Gates Avenue in Brooklyn, we noticed a large number of out-of-school, out-of-work young adults in the surrounding area.  We worked with the local community to create a program called DREAMS (Dedicated, Responsible, Educated, Accountable, Motivated and Self-Sufficient) that would encourage these young people to resume their education and gain the skills they would need to obtain employment.  The program also provides wrap-around social, psychological, and childcare services to help participants overcome obstacles of poverty that may have originally derailed them. 

The program opened in 2007 with 19 participants in attendance, and in 2008 received support from the U.S. Department of Labor to include a YouthBuild component, giving participants additional on-site, paid skills training in the construction field.   Since then, the program has successfully enrolled over 100 students, of whom 50 have received their GEDs, 16 have enrolled in colleges, 25 have obtained job placements, and 37 have been trained and certified in building maintenance, helping to rehabilitate and return to the market more than 30 affordable apartments.

Funding for this program has been provided by the Independence Community Foundation, the JPMorganChase Foundation, the United Way, and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Ditashiah Kohn, Director

www.dreamsyouthbuildged.com

DREAMS/YouthBuild
715 Gates Avenue, Suite 1C
Brooklyn, NY  11221
718.455.4308