Handyman Ministries
Tradesmen Apprentice Program
The Tradesmen Apprentice Program (TAP) is a sub-program of HM and is designed to assist participants in achieving gainful employment and permanent housing by teaching the skills necessary to acquire a Michigan State Building Contractor License and by assisting participants in obtaining and sustaining safe permanent housing. TAP utilizes hands-on field training, classrooms, case management, master-to-apprentice training and mentoring, peer-to-peer mentoring, and student accountability partners to achieve success.
HM uses a holistic approach for the success and well-being of the participants. Through TAP, HM offers the apprentices many opportunities to develop the stability, confidence, and life and vocation skills needed to become a successful member of society. HM will pay a wage-based allowance to the apprentices while participating in the program and help them to obtain their GED, driver's license, and/or temporary housing.
HM fills a significant gap in our community by providing employment and housing opportunities for the TAP apprentices. These apprentices may come from the following disadvantaged populations:
Youths in Transition
· Young adults aging out from the foster care system
· Young adults with nowhere to turn
Re-entry
· Returning citizens from correctional facilities
· Returning citizens from substance abuse programs
· Homeless citizens or citizens living in homeless shelters
Unemployed/Underemployed
· Graduated students
· Persons who incurred job loss
· Persons with a career change
There are multiple barriers to gaining employment and acquiring appropriate housing. Some of these barriers are inadequate job skills, lack of education, mental illness, substance abuse, criminal history, abusive home environment, and lack of opportunity. TAP will provide the apprentices with the necessary training to overcome these barriers. In addition each apprentice will be assigned an HM- staffed case manager. The case manager will develop an Action Plan through detailed assessments of each apprentice's strengths, weaknesses, and needs.
The Action Plan includes measurable goals in any of the following areas:
· Housing
· Employment
· Education
· Personal growth
· Money management
· Family development
· Communication
· Parenting
· Conflict resolution
· Legal issues
· Therapy
· Substance abuse
· Personal struggles
· Spiritual and social support systems
The TAP apprentice will use the following five steps to achieve the goals in the Action Plan:
· Employment while Career Training
· Safe Temporary Housing
· Life Skills Classes and Coaching
· Gainful Employment
· Permanent Housing
Step One: Employment While Career Training
Employment
· All apprentices accepted into the program will be paid a minimum wage-based allowance
· All apprentices will be mentored in employment responsibilities, thus creating dependability for future employment
Three (3) year Apprentice Program
· All participants receive exposure to and training in all areas of residential construction: plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical, carpentry,
masonry, roofing, waterproofing, landscaping, weatherization, drywall/plastering, painting, flooring, structural and cosmetic building, and
repair. Each student will graduate with a general knowledge of all residential construction, BOCA code law and achieve a Builder's License
· During the last six (6) months of the program, participants will be required to complete a class to prepare for the Michigan State Building
Contractor License test
Step Two: Safe Temporary Housing
Temporary Housing
· HM's mission partner's support in the area of placement in transitional housing is provided for participants during the apprentice-training
component (as needed). The transitional housing component adds stability while the training component is implemented
Step Three: Life Skills Classes and Coaching
· Life skills classes and training will be held throughout the three-year period pertaining to financial management, business, communication,
English & grammar, math, parenting/marriage, behavioral/conflict resolution, drug/crime awareness, and ethics
· HM's mission partners will be available to help the apprentice acquire a GED
· Each apprentice will have a case manager, counselor, mentor and student accountability partner
· All apprentices will be required to take classes sponsored by HM as determined by their case manager and Action Plan
· Each apprentice will review their Action Plan with a case manager every three months
· Changes to the Action Plan during the case management meetings will reflect the completion of the program components and/or new barrier
that may occur
Step Four: Gainful Employment
Job Placement
· During the three-year apprenticeship, HM will assist the participants to acquire the necessary hand and power tool skills required for
employment in the field of construction and building contracting
· Through case management, referrals, job placement services, mission partners and HM hiring, each apprentice will find gainful employment or
start a business before successfully exiting our program
Step Five: Permanent Housing
· Upon completion of the program, TAP graduates will receive a home of their own. This will be one of the vacated, condemned, abandoned or
donated homes that the TAP graduate repaired as part of the Vacant House Program described below.
TAP Supported Program Components
Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative
The Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative is HM's holistic approach to solving many of the problems facing society today. Detroit is full of vacant homes, occupied homes in sub-standard conditions, homeless citizens, children aging out of the foster care system with nowhere to turn, unemployed citizens, and a general void of taxpaying residents. TAP was designed to counteract these issues by training and empowering a new generation of honest, well-rounded tradesmen.
The Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative has three major components which interact symbiotically with each other:
· Economic Growth Initiative
· Vacant House Program
· Home Repair Program
Economic Growth Initiative
The Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative tremendously and positively affects the economic growth of Metro Detroit by:
· Educating and training individuals while exposing them to life skills needed to succeed
· Creating new jobs
· Creating safe and stable neighborhoods
· Promoting resident growth
· Contributing to business growth
· Generating tax revenue growth
· Cultivating alliances between city and suburban residents and strengthening their ability to work together to create a better Metro Detroit
· Building a greater sense of city and community pride
· Putting our faith back into God as a nation and a city
· Restoring harmony for one another
Vacant House Program
As part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative, HM will acquire vacated, condemned, abandoned or donated homes and rehabilitate them.
On-site Training
· Our student TAP apprentices, licensed tradesmen, partners, and volunteers will repair these homes
· This serves as the first of three areas of hands-on field training for the TAP apprentice. These homes will provide valuable opportunities for the
apprentice to be exposed to and educated in all areas of residential construction and repair
0% Interest, Bank-free Mortgage Program
· HM will offer qualifying low-income clients subsidized housing through this program. HM will provide financing at zero percent interest to all
recipients. This will also serve as a stream of earned income to help pay for the apprentices wages and for the programs sustainability
Student Ownership on Graduation
· Each student will receive one of the above-described homes upon completion of TAP. HM will lift the lien from the title after three (3) years
following the program, provided the recipient is up to date on their property taxes
Home Repair Program
As part of our Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative. HM will provide low-income residential homeowners with free home maintenance and repair services and also energy efficient upgrades. Home modifications for the physically disabled will also be provided.
Low-income Homeowners
· The TAP apprentices, HM licensed tradesmen, volunteers, and partners are the labor force providing free home maintenance and repair
services.
On-site Construction, Communication, and Life Skills Training
· This serves as the second hands-on field training for the TAP apprentice
· Apprentices have the opportunity to use and further develop their life skills and communication training in the field by conducting all business
interactions with the homeowner (customer), writing work orders and filing completed job logs
· This engagement between the customer and apprentice is also an opportunity for the open sharing of testimonies and creates an opportunity for
increased community involvement
Create Engagement Opportunities for Volunteers to Serve the Community
· Offering these free services creates opportunities for people to volunteer their time and skills to make an active and tangible difference in the
revitalization of our cities. By one person serving another, a sense of community pride develops along with restoring faith in humanity
Affordable Home Services
· HM will offer all of its services at an affordable rate to those whom exceed the income eligibility guidelines based on the federal poverty scale.
This will also serve as a stream of earned income for the programs sustainability
· This is the third area of hands-on field training for the TAP apprentice. The apprentices will work on projects and further develop their business,
communication, and life skills