A youth services organization in the Capital Region is celebrating an influx of new state funding.
The Social Enterprise and Training, or SEAT, Center in Schenectady hosted state Assemblyman Phil Steck on Wednesday. The Democrat from the 110th District says the $125,000 grant will support improvements to and the renovation of the organization’s Wellness Center. Steck says the money will bolster the YouthBuild program, which calls the State Street location home.
“YouthBuild trains people who come from some disadvantaged backgrounds in how to be successful as workers in the construction industry, and it teaches skills- not only the construction skills that you need, but the life skills that you need in order to fit in in the disciplined workplace that a construction site is,” Steck said.
Steck adds training programs like SEAT can have more, longer-lasting positive effects on a community than other, more commonly-promoted economic development plans.
“A very popular program is the moviemaking tax credit that we give away- $400 million a year. And yes, the companies do come in, they make [a] movie, they stay two weeks, they spend a little money and they leave. That's not economic development,” Steck said.
SEAT founder and CEO Jennifer Lawrence says the improvements include new signage for all three of the organization’s buildings, café upgrades, and soundproof meeting pods.
“Students who are at telehealth appointments are obviously much more prevalent now. They're actually super effective because we cut down on transportation costs, missed appointments…,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence says her organization gives those most in need a SEAT at the table.
“I always think about someone who's worked with, let's say, their father, and learned how to use tools and learned how to repair motors and learned how to take their alarm clock apart or repair their lawnmower. That's something that our students don't have. So what we're doing is bridging that gap,” Lawrence said.
Tre O’Dell is a student in the Center’s culinary program.
“I really was doing nothing with my life, and it's going pretty good. And I would do it because there's something to do when you don't have anything else to do. It's pretty fun to do,” O'Dell said.
Lawrence says when students move on, SEAT will still support and follow with them for a year.
“We're asking them questions about how they're being treated on the job, how their relationship is with their supervisor, and if there are issues, it's not there are times where we're mediating with a supervisor and helping that and identifying, hey, this may not be a good company for us to work with in the future,” Lawrence said.
She notes graduates stay local, noting a past collaboration with Mohawk Ambulance.
Steck says SEAT shows the viability of different paths in life.
“People need to be able to have success. And you know nowadays, simply going to college doesn't always lead to a great future, whereas learning to do construction or being in the culinary field can lead to greater success. So we need to expand programs like Youth Build we need to put more and more resources in it,” Steck said.
