Department of Labor Awards $920,000 YouthBuild Grant to Handy to support training, employment, and apprenticeships among Broward County Youth.

Handy (Helping Advance and Nurture the Development of Youth), a non-profit organization that provides resources and programs to youth and families to achieve self-sufficiency, will receive $920,000 in grant funds during a presentation and press conference held by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

The Department of Labor recently awarded $98 million in grants to 72 organizations in 30 states and Guam.

Handy is 1 of 4 organizations to be selected to receive the grant in the state of Florida and the only organization in South Florida.

About Handy YouthBuild Program:

• The Handy YouthBuild Program will support pre-apprenticeships to educate and train 40 young people, ages 16-24, who are not enrolled in school and/or not currently in the labor market, for jobs in construction and other high-demand industries.
• The 40 participants will receive educational support and programming from Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) and/or Broward College at no cost.
• Handy will engage its employers and partners to provide participants with various work readiness and career exploration opportunities, including presentations from guest speakers, worksite tours, job shadowing, and paid internships.
• The Construction Training Plan will be implemented with H.O.M.E.S., Inc. and Florida International University (FIU) Moss School of Construction to provide meaningful hands-on work experience for participants. Renovations of local properties will also be conducted for use by low-income individuals.
• Participants will also dedicate time to community service and youth leadership opportunities in alignment with the education and vocational training components.

DETAILS: YouthBuild participants must be between the ages of 16 and 24. Eligible participants left high school without a diploma and are either a member of a low-income family, a foster care youth, a court-involved youth, a youth with a disability, a child of an incarcerated parent, or a migrant youth. All applicants must be Handy enrolled youth and families.

About Handy

Since 1985, Handy has helped over 50,000 at-promise youth and their families achieve self-sufficiency. As a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, Handy provides customized programs that meet the individual needs of a child through four unique pillars: Handy Youth [Case Management], Handy Cares [Mental Health Services], Handy Futures [Education and Career Development], and Handy Homes [Housing Assistance]. Handy is led by CEO, Kirk Brown and an action-driven Board under the direction of current Chairman, Mike Wild.

Headquartered at 1717 N. Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Handy’s mission is to create supportive communities where youth and families achieve self-sufficiency. For more information visit https://handyinc.org or connect with the organization via social media at www.facebook.com/HANDYSouthFL or www.instagram.com/handysouthfl/.