October 8, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Community development organization Urban Edge honored MassHousing with a Service to Youth Award at the organization’s annual meeting, September 28. The award was largely due to MassHousing’s ongoing support of employment and leadership programs for at-risk youth at MassHousing and Urban Edge housing communities.
Urban Edge works with residents, businesses and government agencies to develop and sustain stable, healthy, and diverse communities in the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston. Among other things, the CDC develops high quality, affordable rental and owner housing, provides assistance to small businesses, promotes homebuyer education and lending, and develops educational facilities for youth and families.
Since 2006, MassHousing has provided special funding and other support to help establish and continue a summer jobs program through Urban Edge. Program participants have worked at daycare centers, a teen center and other nonprofits throughout Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, as well as a law firm and bank in downtown Boston.
MassHousing also provided support to help Urban Edge establish the Youth Leadership Academy, which places young people in paid positions in community agencies, law firms, medical institutions, banks, architectural firms and other companies where they are mentored by their employers. Through the Academy, young people develop skills and relationships that enhance their future employability, and focus them on the possibilities for their educational and professional futures.
(Pictured below, MassHousing Public Safety Director Thaddeus Miles, right, and Executive Director Tom Gleason accept the Urban Edge Service to Youth Award, September 28.)
