Our Model
YouthBuild centers positive youth development and youth voice. Our goal is to get young people to work together to reclaim their education, gain job skills, and become leaders in their communities through service and civic engagement.
Download Program Model 1-Pager
It begins with Mental Toughness
Before students become enrolled in our program, they must complete a 2-3 week orientation known as Mental Toughness.
The purpose of Mental Toughness is to firmly set the tone for the rest of the program by establishing a high bar of expectations and program culture. We do this by:
Communicating our core values, expectations for program participation, policy and outcomes.
Beginning daily rituals as the foundation for discipline and celebrating success.
Building trust and community between potential participants and staff based on respect and identity.
Creating a safe zone, setting a strong tone for transformation.
Incorporating elements to expose and test participant readiness in each of our key areas for final selection.
Expose participants to each program component through experiential activities
2-Part Program
In-Person
6-Months (minimum)
When students first join the program they participate full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 3:30pm for a minimum of 6-months. During this time they work on the construction site, in the classroom and on various community service and leadership projects in order to complete the requirements to graduate the program. Students receive a stipend while attending program in-person.
Follow-Up
12-Months
Once students graduate the in-person part of the program, they enter a 12-month “follow-up” period. During follow-up students get help finding and maintaining employment and/or post-secondary education. Students no longer receive the bi-weekly stipend, nor are they required to attend program. Students receive regular contact from our staff and continue to receive support services as needed.
40 / 40 / 20
While in-person, this is the split for how our students spend time in the program.
40% is spent focused on making academic gains in the classroom.
40% is spent completing hands-on training building affordable housing.
20% is spent focused on service and leadership development activities.
Student Stipends
KWEST Inc. YouthBuild is an education and training program that instead of charging tuition, offers students supplementary income to help with daily expenses while attending. Additionally, the student stipend is a valuable tool we use to help reinforce positive work habits and practice financial literacy.
Stipends are based on a point-system which tracks student daily attendance and conduct. Students who are enrolled in the in-person part of our program can earn up to $30/day in their stipend if they achieve perfect points. Stipends are distributed bi-weekly so in a typical 4-week month, students with perfect points can potentially earn up to $600/month.
The Core Elements
Our program is built on a foundation of love and 5 core elements
Love
KWEST Inc. YouthBuild welcomes all of our students with love. Our emphasis on positivity, encouragement, and love are unwavering because we understand that young people don’t care what we know, until they know that we care.
At our program, young people—often for the first time—enter an environment of love, respect, high expectations, belonging, and agency. This culture is built on a foundation of trust and intentional community building, helping to ensure safe conditions for learning and personal growth. Meaningful relationships with caring adults and peers become the connective tissue that helps young people persist as they pursue their goals and aspirations.
Education
At KWEST Inc. YouthBuild, young adults spend roughly half of their time advancing their formal education goals. These can include: working toward their GED, numeracy and literacy skill-building, and hands-on learning, focused on livelihood preparation. In supportive, individualized learning environments, our students gain essential academic skills and obtain the certifications or credentials needed to pursue a diverse range of careers and livelihoods, apprenticeships, and postsecondary education.
Career Pathways
All young people who enter our program pursue a dual mission: to create a meaningful and productive life for themselves and their families, while giving their best energies to improve the world around them. At the core, students learn job skills in construction and in other high-demand employment sectors such as advanced manufacturing. Students learn by doing hands-on work to rebuild their neighborhoods, with each cohort constructing a unit of low-income housing under the guidance of experienced trainers. This environment helps our students learn and refine durable skills such as teamwork, problem solving, communication, and adaptability.
Support Services
Many of our students manage family circumstances and conditions within their communities that present significant barriers to their success. Some must choose between pursuing their education and working to survive. At our program, participants benefit from services that support them in managing and addressing these barriers, helping to meet their basic needs so they can participate, learn, and train at their full capacity.
Students receive a bi-weekly stipend for participating full-time in our program to assist with paying everyday expenses. Additional guidance and resources help students better understand themselves, problem solve, and meaningfully contribute to society along the way. Support services include case management, mentoring, career counseling, mental wellness resources, and life skills coaching. Networks of supports in house and via partnerships highlight our deep commitment to supporting the whole person.
Leadership Development
At KWEST Inc. YouthBuild, students develop the skillsets and mindsets to grow into community leaders. Youth voice is elevated to cultivate engagement, decision-making, social responsibility, and agency in charting their own path. Our students find stability in their lives and gain an appreciation of lifelong learning. They discover confidence—in themselves and others—and in their ability to succeed. Our students are called to play active service and leadership roles in their communities. They learn that leadership, accountability, collaboration, and love hold the power to reclaim lives and communities, one person and one project at a time.
Alumni Success
KWEST Inc. YouthBuild is not a one-and-done job training program. We teach young people the tools for professional success and lifelong learning. At YouthBuild, they develop the skillsets and mindsets needed to become truly employable, including market-relevant technical skills, networking, professionalism, financial literacy, and entrepreneurial habits that foster the adaptable mindset they need to thrive in future careers.
When young people join our program, they form bonds that extend beyond graduation. They become part of a movement, a community, and a family. We help place graduates in the careers they seek and help with transition placement at key moments in their lives. We maintain a strong focus on alumni engagement and alumni services, so that a sense of community remains an essential part of our young people’s journeys.
Learn more about our impact
We’ve been making a difference in the lives of young people and improving our local community for over 3-decades.
