The Pittsburgh Project: Building Community, Building Lives

Andrew Burke dropped out of school at 17 because he "just wasn't interested." He was dubbed a bad student who had a short attention span, problems with teachers, and a tendency to act up in class--when he showed up that is.

After dropping out, Burke made several attempts to get his diploma and GED, but his life stalled. He was living at home with his mother and involved in drugs. Then his brother showed him a flyer for a program at The Pittsburgh Project targeted to young people on the North Side. Burke decided to sign up.

Now, at age 20 and just few months into YouthBuild, Burke says his life is turned "all around." He's actively working toward his GED, has stopped using drugs, and moved into his own apartment with money he makes from his YouthBuild construction job.

The Northside-based Pittsburgh Project became a YouthBuild site about six months ago. The national program was a good fit for the community development organization. YouthBuild is designed to help young people in urban neighborhoods work toward their GED or high school diploma, learn job skills, and serve the community by building affordable housing.

"It's a bridge and a catcher for that population of 18-24 year olds that school districts have missed," says Terri Lee, The Pittsburgh Project's YouthBuild case manager. In partnership with Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council and Community College of Allegheny County, the program focuses half of its time on academic education and life skills. Participants spend the other half working in paid construction jobs.

Kids and Construction
This idea of developing young people through manual labor has a long history at The Pittsburgh Project. Saleem Ghubril, a Presbyterian pastor, started The Project in 1985 as a way to engage North Side youth and serve vulnerable homeowners: those who are elderly, poor, shut-in, widowed, disabled, or immobile. Today, volunteer crews – mainly comprised of teenagers and college students – repair more than 150 homes each year in neighborhoods throughout the city and neighboring boroughs. Volunteers come from around Pittsburgh, out-of-town, and even out-of-state to participate in day- or week-long service camps.

"The Project is a lifesaver," says Ken Bumbrey, a homeowner with Multiple Sclerosis in the Upper Hill District. "All of the workers were very good, especially for a group of kids or young people who were basically doing it on their own time," he says. "There were no slackers. They worked like it was a regular job, and they did a good job."

For the volunteers, the service camps are about more than helping homeowners. As a Christian organization, the Pittsburgh Project gives volunteers an opportunity to reflect on and learn about faith, including how it operates on a practical level in the real world. To that end, The Project seeks to develop servant leaders: people who take on a leadership style that emphasizes trust, empathy, and service to others.

See How The Project Grows
After 23 years with The Pittsburgh Project, Ghubril resigned his post as executive director this past summer to become the first executive director of the Pittsburgh Promise. But during that time, he saw The Project grow far beyond its original model.

"It's grown in ways that we never expected," says Elizabeth Rosemeyer, The Project's associate executive director. "We never dreamed that we would operate the park across the street," she adds, referring to Fowler Park and Pool, which The Project took over in 2006.

And while we're listing community touch points, let's not forget that The Project operates a café, a 324-bed "green" guesthouse, a new urban farming initiative on an old baseball field, and a variety of rental spaces, including a former church sanctuary used for weddings and galas.

Building Strong Young People in Pittsburgh – and beyond
But wait. Yes, there's more. Educating and empowering young people are truly at the core of The Pittsburgh Project so The Project offers after school and summer programs to help students in grades K-12 grow academically as well as socially and spiritually. The pinnacle of these programs is the Leaders In Training (L.I.T.) program that prepares high school students for college and the work world.

Chatham University freshman Janee Hall got involved with the Pittsburgh Project in third grade and was hooked. In addition to attending the afterschool programs, Hall worked in the café, which greatly helped her people skills and taught her how to network. The Pittsburgh Project even helped her to apply for a summer internship with the Heinz Endowments, which she completed this past summer. She recommends The Pittsburgh Project to kids and parents alike. "It's a great program," she says. "If you have your kids involved in it, most likely they will never leave!"

College students can apply for summer internships at The Project or go all out and spend half a school year doing Pittsburgh Semester, a residential program that includes classes, an internship, and weekly service projects for students from regional Christian colleges.

Despite all of these programs and the truckloads of kids that go through The Pittsburgh Project each year, the staff still takes a personal interest in each of them. "There could be hundreds of kids in the programs, but they know their names," says Tra-Linn Scott, a fourth-year sociology and criminology major at Westminster College who graduated from the L.I.T. program. She says that her involvement with The Pittsburgh Project has had an "extremely large impact" on her, from helping her to figure out financing for college to examining her spirituality.

Burke says that the program and its staff are helping him to become a better man. He serves as president of YouthBuild's student-run advisory board and is scheduled to take his GED exam later this month. He sums up his life so far in two words: "Attitude and adversity," he says, explaining that despite the challenges he's faced, The Pittsburgh Project has helped him to turn a bad attitude into a positive one. He's also a big advocate for YouthBuild. "If you're interested in construction or want to turn your life around, join YouthBuild," he says.

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Captions: Elizabeth Rosemeyer; Terri Lee; Tim Osterwise, worksite co-ordinator, and student Harold Jones, on the roof of a renovation project; students Beverly Hardrick (left) and Shalonda Damon.

Photographs copyright Brian Cohen



Jennifer McGuiggan, a freelance writer and editor, is owner of The Word Cellar.