Eagle's Nest YouthBuild

The YouthBuild program is a combination of education and job training. The participants spend alternating weeks learning construction trades on a job site and working in the classroom on their education. The construction projects are specifically designed to provide low-income housing while giving the youth an opportunity to develop a marketable trade. In addition to the educational and career training the youth receive, they also become active in their community through service projects. Finally, the students gain the chance to learn and enhance their leadership skills through the program’s Youth Policy Council, which allows the students partial self-government of the program.

In 2005, Eagle Ridge Institute’s was awarded the Department of Housing and Urban Development grant for the Oklahoma City YouthBuild program. Since the prevention and deterrence goals of YouthBuild were aligned with that of ERI, it was very natural to absorb the program into our family. Over the past four years, Eagle’s Nest YouthBuild (ENYB) has been able to maintain the federal grant through its migration from HUD to the Department of Labor. Furthermore, we are proud to claim affiliate status with YouthBuild USA.

Today, ENYB continues to carry on out the missions of both Eagle Ridge Institute and YouthBuild USA by providing a community development program that simultaneously addresses core issues facing low-income communities: housing, education, employment, crime prevention, and leadership development.

To date, we have provided education and job training to over 100 young people in the Oklahoma City area and participated in the creation or renovation of over 500 low-income housing units.