Building a Job Training Opportunity on the City’s North End

[Press Release]

On March 17, 2014, the Niagara Falls City Council approved a $10,000 grant to the Highland Community Revitalization Committee, Inc. (HCRC) to create a North End Trades Training Class in partnership with the Isaiah 61 Project. The funds are specifically dedicated to the salary of an Orleans/Niagara Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) instructor teaching the class.

“To me, two of the biggest issues in our city are the lack of jobs and the need for a stronger sense of community. This partnership tackles both, in a small way,” said City Council Chairman Charles Walker. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but empowering our community through this project is a step forward in the effort to help bring economic strength and stability back to our North End.”

HCRC is a non-profit, charitable organization of concerned citizens and residents seeking to serve as a catalyst for the resurgence and redevelopment of the Highland neighborhood. HCRC is in the process of purchasing a city owned vacant home in its target area that will serve as the on-site classroom for this initiative. It will also be responsible for student recruitment. “This program will increase the number of eligible minority construction workers available for hire by local unions and contractors needing to meet their contractual minority hiring goals,” said Charletta Tyson, Executive Director of HCRC. “We will also improve the housing stock of the community with the rehabilitation of dilapidated properties through this program. We will ultimately be adding properties back on the tax roll and save the city money in demolition cost.”

The Isaiah 61 Project, in collaboration with O/N BOCES and several funding partners, provides a free 400 hour construction trades job training class to unemployed and under-employed applicants. In the process, Isaiah 61 renovates vacant homes once owned by the city, preparing the structures for home ownership and returning them to the municipal tax roll. The Isaiah 61 Project Trades Training Program began in 2012, in partnership with the Niagara Falls Community Development Department and The John R. Oishei Foundation. Since its inception, 30 people have graduated from the program and approximately 75 percent have found local job placement. “We are excited to partner with HCRC and to work with a new group of students,” said Jim Haid, Project Coordinator. “We will establish our permanent headquarters and re-use store at the old Highland Avenue Fire Hall later this year. This training class is the right way to introduce the Isaiah 61 Project to our future neighbors in the North End.”

The Highland Fire Hall is being renovated by the Niagara Falls Community Development Department with financial assistance through a 2013 Western New York Regional Economic Development Council grant. “Every under-employed resident that seeks training and finds a job is a community victory. Every time Niagara Falls organizations partner for a common goal, more positive momentum is generated,” said Seth Piccirillo, Director of Niagara Falls Community Development. “Highland Community’s partnership with the Isaiah 61 Project will give North End residents a new pathway to employment. That is economic development.”