Supervisors to help start YouthBuild program

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
June 6, 2003
Lauderdale County supervisors agreed Thursday to contribute $100,000 over a three-year period to help start a county YouthBuild program.
YouthBuild is a national, nonprofit program for low-income young people who are trained to rebuild their communities by being taught various trades, like plumbing, and construction.
The county contribution will make the program eligible for a $700,000 federal grant; the program is applying for other grants as well. Initial plans for the local program is to build five houses.
Louis Sutton, president and chief professional officer of United Way of East Mississippi, proposed the program to the board of supervisors at its meeting on Monday.
Even though District 5 Supervisor Ray Boswell said he is not against the YouthBuild Program, he was the only supervisor to vote against helping to fund it.
District 2 Supervisor Jimmie Smith made the motion to help fund the program, calling it an investment for the community and county taxpayers.
Sutton said money earned from the sale of homes will be reinvested back into the project to continue it and expand it.
The federal YouthBuild program was created in 1993 within the Department of Housing and Urban Development.