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Local HBA Pledges Support to HBI’s Project CRAFT
In an example of how the Home Builders Institute (HBI) is collaborating with local and state home builders associations to help students through internships, jobs and networking with members of the residential construction industry, the HBA of Middle Tennessee’s Metro Davidson Council took its monthly meeting in June to Project CRAFT/Nashville for a first-hand look at the trades training and placement program.
Project CRAFT (Community, Restitution and Apprenticeship-Focused Training) is recognized as a model for rehabilitating and reducing the recidivism of adjudicated youth. The program provides students with the trade and life skills needed to succeed in the building industry, while at the same time bringing new, well-trained talent into the workforce.
At the meeting, Davidson council members received a rundown of Project CRAFT’s activites from HBI Trustee Jerry Strebel and Project Coordinator J. D. Johnson, who emphasized the program’s role in addressing labor shortages in the Nashville area.
John Whitaker, president of the council, was impressed by what he learned and on behalf of his group, pledged support of Project CRAFT through jobs and career opportunities, letters, material donations and in-kind contributions.
“Until this meeting I was not aware that HBI existed or hosted its Project CRAFT program in Nashville,” said Buck Dozier, the local council member-at-large and a mayoral candidate. “The work they are doing is extremely helpful to the industry as well as the individuals that they serve.”
Project CRAFT Nashville is being funded by the Department of Labor's Reintegration of Youth Offenders through this year.
HBI, the educational arm of NAHB, currently operates Project CRAFT in Nashville and Jackson, Miss., and at six sites in Florida.
For more information on Project CRAFT, e-mail Dennis Torbett, or call him at 800-795-7955 x8908. |
