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Community Service Puts Skills to the Test in Colorado

Faced with the challenge of converting a dilapidated, graffiti-covered high school building it had received from the city into space for Head Start offices and parenting classes, the Community Partnership for Child Development (CPCD), a non-profit offering early childhood education and family development programs in the Colorado Springs area, turned to the Home Builders Institute (HBI) to help with the renovations.

Students enrolled in HBI’s Project TRADE (Training, Restitution, Apprenticeship, Development and Education) program tore down and rebuilt walls and ceilings, relocated electrical wiring and put up new doors. The trainees practiced their skills while saving the CPCD an estimated $30,000- $40,000 in labor costs over the four months it took to complete the project.

Project TRADE provides training and placement to adult offenders for employment in the home building industry. The program is funded by ComCor Inc, a non-profit community corrections agency providing correctional services and treatment programs to offenders who are working to make a positive change in their lives.

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HBI, the workforce development arm of NAHB, and ComCor joined forces with the HBA of Colorado Spring/Pikes Peak to offer Project TRADE and ensure the housing industry’s involvement in it. Since 1995, the program has trained more than 500 offenders, with a job placement rate of nearly 80%.

“These community projects provide opportunities for offenders to change their lives and make positive contributions to society,” says Steve Gilmore, executive director for ComCor. “The home building industry provides the support, training and jobs needed to make the transition, while projects like CPCD’s offer a chance to put the skills to practice and give back to the community.”

The relationship between HBI and CPCD began in 1998 when Project TRADE trainees built a multi-tiered deck and access ramp for a CPCD-sponsored Early Head Start program. Project TRADE was responsible for the entire process — from estimating through construction. The project was completed under budget and on time.

Community service projects provide an opportunity for HBI trainees to put their skills to the test in a real work environment and gain valuable experience that increases their chances of placement following graduation from the program. One graduate was recently placed as an apprentice with a local electrical contractor at $8.50 an hour.

For more information on Project TRADE e-mail Dennis Torbett at HBI, or call 800-795-7955 x8908.
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