NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Tyrone Brock says YouthBuild in Newport News gave him a fresh start.
“Where I come from, it’s really hard to survive, like really hard," Brock, a participant in the program, said. "I just saw a lot of people that I was close with, people I was raised with, didn’t make it out.”
The Baltimore native left the city and moved to Newport News trying to avoid a troubled path. He said he’s grown after spending the last five months in the program.
“It made me open up more, made me go to interviews, it made me learn about construction,” he said.
Next month, he'll graduate and earn his GED. He said it's one of his biggest accomplishments.
“To accomplish something that fast in six months, that feels good,” Brock said.
The YouthBuild program, run by Volunteers of America Chesapeake & Carolinas, started two years ago in Newport News. It teaches at-risk teens and young adults, ages 16-24, trade skills, GED training and works to employ them following the program.
“We train them, we teach them all of the various things to get their GED if they need it," said Program Executive Director Dan Carrera. "If they have their high school diploma, we increase their literacy and we employ them with various companies.”
The six-month program is expected to help around 90 young adults, but the program is falling short. Carrera said for some, the GED training can get tough. He also said the stipend the program offers isn’t enough for other young adults.
Carrera said he is concerned those who leave the program will go back to old habits.
“Sometimes crime is one of the things that they’re going back to," he said. "So as we talk to them, we explain to them that that’s not the answer.”
He hopes it will provide them with a new outlook on life.
“It will help you get started on your own path,” said Nakisha Brockers, a participant in the program.
YouthBuild is holding recruitment events to enroll more students in the program starting April 18. You can apply for the program online.