By Daniel Trotta
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - From the moment he got busted for robbery, Tevin Banks said he knew his life would have to change. Now he's on a path that could help Los Angeles rebuild from its worst natural disaster in history.
Banks, 21, from the South Central L.A. neighborhood of Watts, is learning construction skills under a program designed to help at-risk young adults, while also addressing the increased labor demand for rebuilding following January's wildfires that destroyed or damaged
an estimated 13,000 homes on the eastern and western flanks of the city.
Rebuilding has yet to begin in earnest as homeowners have needed time to clear debris and settle insurance claims. Construction should ramp up in 2026 and 2027, real estate experts say.
Meantime, the program known as SOAR, or Strengthening Opportunities and Resistance, has set a goal of training 2,000 at-risk youth aged 18 to 24 for entry-level jobs in construction.
Begun by a nonprofit group that specializes in helping military veterans, SOAR started in June with a class of 20 students on a six-month course. Though many skills will take years to hone, the first class is learning the basics for 14 construction trades, including carpentry, masonry, laying floors and hanging sheet rock. The more ambitious can take the longer path toward electrical or plumbing skills.
John Wordin, founder of the SOAR program through his nonprofit Life Aid Research Institute, said he was looking to create a mentorship program when he met a veteran working at a trade school. It dawned on him he could direct at-risk youth into construction training to meet the wildfire rebuilding demand.
He was able to fund the first class of 20 for about $100,000. He estimates he needs around $1 million to train 2,000 people and is searching for public and private funding.
'I SEE MYSELF DOING SOMETHING'
Some of SOAR's recruits are high school dropouts. Some have had mental health or substance abuse problems. All seven students at a recent outdoor class in central Los Angeles had been incarcerated at some point, whether in juvenile detention or as adults. One wore a court-ordered ankle monitor just above his left construction boot as the group practiced working with a power drill.
Banks, 21, said he was arrested for robbery two years ago and that he knew "right then and there, when the police got me," that he needed to alter his life.
"I tried to do something stupid, and I learned my lesson from that," Banks said. "When I was sitting in the cell, I was just thinking to myself, like, I'm young, and I really see myself doing something. Like, I don't know what at the time, but I know I just wanted to be successful."
He sees a future in flooring.
Wordin's expertise is in teaching life skills, which is combined with job training provided by the longstanding Playa Vista Job Opportunities and Business Services in central Los Angeles. Students there receive training from instructors like Edward Romero, 48, who served 20 years in prison until getting released seven years ago. Now Romero is a journeyman floor layer who teaches other ex-offenders.
Not all the students will make it, but Playa Vista says 67% of its graduates hold construction jobs six months after leaving the program.
David Shirley, owner of Los Angeles-based Shirley Construction, has met many of those in training and said he is willing to hire them. Others he has hired from similar programs "typically turn out to be my hardest workers."
"They've had a tough start. That's probably all they know in their circle - rough times growing up," Shirley said. "So we're happy to offer them greener pastures, so they can see what can be done with some hard work and sticking by the rules and making a real future for themselves."
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Los Angeles)
