Rep. Ruben Gallego Congratulates Friendly House on Grant Award to Provide Opportunities to Disconnected Youth
Washington, DC – The Department of Labor will award Friendly House $911,494 through its YouthBuild program to provide job training and educational opportunities to youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who wish to pursue careers in construction.
Participants in the YouthBuild program will earn industry-recognized certifications and gain construction skills training to build houses for homeless or low-income families in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The Southwest Skills Center at Estrella Community College will also partner with Friendly House for this project.
Friendly House also received a $1 million grant from the Department of Labor in July that will allow them to provide workforce development and adult education services to disconnected youth who wish to pursue careers in criminal justice.
Rep. Gallego said, “The YouthBuild program will help young people to gain the education and skills they need to obtain a good job and help them to become engaged in their community. I want to congratulate Friendly House on receiving this significant award, and thank them for the work they are doing in our community to expand access to education and training opportunities and to help disconnected youth realize their full potential.”
Friendly House President & CEO Martin Quintana said, “We are excited to have been awarded this grant. It will enable Friendly House to serve young adults that are interested in becoming involved in the construction field. During the last 97 years, Friendly House has established solid relationships and an excellent program reputation in the community, which we believe played a key role in being awarded this funding opportunity. This is the second Department of Labor grant awarded to Friendly House in the past three months. We have been blessed with this opportunity to work with and serve our community.”