February 15, 2007

A place to call home

Conservation Corp students build affordable housing for low-income families

By Ali Abdollahi
Staff Writer

Seven single-family homes built by students from the San Jose Conser-vation Corp (SJCC) Charter School’s Youth Build program were awarded by lottery to local families on Feb. 6.

Araksyi “Roxy” Martirosyan stands with her husband Artak and son Arthur on the porch of their new home at Hennessey Place. The Martirosyan family was awarded the home, built by students from San Jose’s Youth Build program, at a below-market price through the Housing Department’s first-time home buyer program.

The families, who had pre-qualified to purchase the homes at below-market rates, were given the keys to their new homes on Hennessey Place at a ceremony attended by staff from the city’s Housing Department, Neighborhood Housing Services and by many of the Youth Build participants that helped build the homes.

“One of the ladies was so happy,” said Celia Rios of Neighborhood Housing Services. “She told me that she had been nervous leading up to the lottery because getting this home was such a big opportunity for her family.”

Youth Build is part of the city’s wider Conservation Corp Charter School program. Participants in the Youth Build program are between 17 and 25 years old, and often considered “at-risk” youth. The Youth Build program offers students the opportunity to earn their high school diplomas, while learning a professional trade.

Depending on how many high school units the students earn prior to enrolling in Youth Build, the program lasts between one and three years. Learning viable skills while earning their diplomas, Youth Build students are placed in professional worker’s unions upon their graduation as plumbers, electricians and construction workers. “The program helps to make them honest citizens,” said Youth Build official John Dyer. “It keeps them out of gangs and out of trouble, and some of them even go on to receive college diplomas.”

Conservation Corp staffer Edith Oregon, left, stands with some of the Youth Build students who helped build seven single-family homes at Hennessey Place across from Pioneer High School. The homes were offerred through a Feb. 6 lottery to pre-qualified, low-income families.

The ceremony was an especially proud moment for the 45 students who helped build the seven two-story homes on Hennessey Place located off Blossom Hill Road across from Pioneer High School.

There are currently more than 300 students involved in the Youth Build program, which has served San Jose youth for over two decades. Though the program has already experienced a substantial expansion over the past few years, there are aims to expand even further. “The goal we have in the works is build the program up to 1,000 students in the next few years,” Dyer said.

The project is a joint effort from the SJCC, Neighborhood Housing Services and the Housing Department. The city works with SJCC to secure property where Youth Build construction projects can be carried out. “This particular parcel (Hennessey Court) was actually owned by the city of San Jose,” said Youth Build Director Ken Fuller. “They had planned to make it a fire house, but that proved unfeasible. So they were able to secure the property for us.”

Neighborhood Housing Services, a San Jose nonprofit organization, handles all the logistics and paperwork for screening and pre-qualifying low-income families who apply to purchase the homes. The homes are purchased at lower prices through the city Housing Department’s first-time homebuyer program.