YouthBuild Fall River was chosen to participate in the YouthBuild Green and Affordable Housing Initiative, a project of YouthBuild USA supported by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Renewable Energy Trust.  Designed to increase the ability of MA YouthBuild programs to adopt green and healthy home building practices, three Green Innovation Design Teams completed a three-day charrette from May 15th – 17th, 2007, with the help of green building and renewable energy experts provided by YouthBuild USA. Groups worked with plans for an actual house that the program will build in order to help them immediately implement what is learned during the charrette. In Fall River, YouthBuild is working closely with Youth Services of the City of Fall River, the Community Development Agency, and the Fall River Housing Authority to give students and staff the opportunity to practice building green affordable homes and begin using innovative solar technologies in the city. YouthBuild is a ten-month construction skills training curriculum for men and women ages 17-24 who have not completed high school run by the Old Colony YMCA has been in operation in Fall River since August of 2006. Click here  and here to see other YouthBuild projects. For more information about the program, contact YouthBuild Program Director Terry Moran at 508-678-1975.