'FRESH START' PROGRAM BUILDS FOURTH HOUSE
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005 -- 8:18 AM
The Western Dairlyland Jackson County Fresh Start Program has a saying: Instead of building a house with people, we build people with a house.Russ Shoemaker is construction site supervisor for the program that takes a crew of ?troubled youth? and turns them into a home building crew.
"Troubled as in many different things," Shoemaker says of the workforce, "Possible didn't make it through high school, possibly dependency problems. We just train them to build a house slowly but surely."
A 10-member strong crew recently completed Fresh Start?s fourth home in 4-years, A ranch-style home in Hixton that was just closed on yesterday. Fresh Start, a statewide program, began back in 1970. It went statewide in 1998.
Crewmembers are treated just like employees.
"We work a 4-day work week. They do get 32 hours a week," Shoemaker says, "80-percent of that is site time, 20-percent is classroom or instruction time."
The program isn?t slowing down. A new crew is already being trained with ground to be broken soon on their next project: a duplex in Merrillan. It will serve as a transitional house for the Bolton County Refuge Shelter.
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