Inner-city youth complete house reno project
WINNIPEG, MB—Youth and staff from an inner-city Christian organization have finished renovating a once-derelict house and are planning to sell it in the coming months.
Inner City Youth Alive (ICYA) bought the property, located at 286 Powers Street, from the City of Winnipeg in 2011 for $2. For the past two-and-a-half years, the organization, which works with youth and young adults from Winnipeg's North End, has been working on fixing the house, which once stood boarded up and abandoned.
Thirteen unemployed youth ages 18-30 revitalized the property, learning valuable job skills in the process. They gutted the property and then learned how to install flooring, siding, windows and doors, build a fence and deck, demolish, frame, drywall, plaster and do finish work.
"It's given them more confidence and it's given them a sense of pride, so for the youth, it was a very, very positive experience," says Kent Dueck, executive director at ICYA.
He tells the story of one youth who earned his first legitimate paycheque working on the project.
"This is someone who had been involved in gangs, and he walked around with the cheque telling people, 'I'm legit! I'm legit!'" Dueck recalls.
The two-storey house has three bedrooms, one full bathroom and a great view of the neighbourhood. It is situated on a double lot with a deck to one side.
"The whole thing is really family-friendly," Dueck says. "Some family is going to have a wonderful Christmas in there this year."
ICYA will use the money it earns from the sale of the house to fund its next building project.
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