YouthBuild changed my life: Ebony’s story

At 17, Ebony and her newborn daughter were homeless. “I was a kid with a kid,” she says, when she came into foster care. Without parents in the picture, she needed caring, trusted adults to help guide her next steps toward her future. Ebony’s case manager at Bethany introduced her to YouthBuild at the Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation. YouthBuild is a nationwide movement that invests in young adults, ages 16-24, and helps them pursue their education, prepare for future careers, and grow into community leaders. The day Ebony graduated with her GED was one of the proudest of her life. Her friends and mentors were there, cheering her on. But more important to Ebony was that her daughter was there to see what she had accomplished. She now has a foundation to give her family a future. “YouthBuild changed my life,” she says. “When you walk in these doors, you’ll walk out with something completely different.”