Everything starts with a vision! The vision of one organization was curated with passion, dedication, persistence, and drive. NWON Opportunities, has been in business for years. Staff there are creating opportunities for young people, people of color, and women who have building construction skills and are between 18–25-years-old.
In 2022, the Office of Resilience within the NJ Department of Children and Families created a microgrant program for communities to design programs that help to mitigate the traumas of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). NWON was one of the first-round awardees.
Its program, Build 360, was conceived as a way to recruit individuals to provide and enhance skills in the building construction field that will put participants on the road to success. The creator of this amazing program is Myra Brown. She has a social service background that includes having experience in workforce development. She understands that employment helps to stabilize families. During her time in the field, Myra noticed that people were only completing job programs because they were obligated to. There wasn’t any sustainability. She registered a program called “Are You Ready?” because she realized something was missing. Are You Ready is a program within NWON to help prepare individuals for their career path. NWON was the answer to the void that Myra felt. She had a vision to put people in jobs that can turn into a career.
But NWON is more than putting people on the path to a career, it’s about the overall growth of a person. Education, nutrition, financial literacy, and emotional wellness are all included in this program to help sustain the successful career path on which each participant is embarking.
Each young man and woman are able to learn about math and reading for construction, how to mix cement, how to do framing work, dry wall etc. Their nutritional diet has improved by going from donuts to smoothies, fruits and plant-based snacks. They also had the opportunity to hear from a financial advisor on how to create a business, such as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) and how to anticipate and pay taxes.
Understanding the impact that adverse childhood experiences have and how positive childhood experiences can mitigate those traumas, was the main reason emotional wellness was a major part of this program. Myra always wanted to make sure she didn’t overlook the adversity participants have faced by encouraging them to deal with their trauma by having both group and individual counseling sessions. According to these young men and women, this was their favorite part of the program and having these conversations was very impactful. One young man even stated, “this program is not only changing my life, but it’s saving my life”.
Build 360, overall is running very well. Seeing the progress of these 10 individuals, with how they build things and being able to explain how to use and care for each tool is amazing growth. Ending this cohort with being OSHA certified shows how much work has been accomplished and put these individuals on the path to a career they might not have had if not for joining this program. We look forward to more cohorts in the future.
Check out their website for more information. www.nwonpa.com
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