CLEARLAKE—Guest speakers at this week’s Judge’s Breakfast in Clearlake were staff members of the North Coast Opportunities group Derek Fiedler, Mike Willis, Justin Gaddy and Roseanne Ibarra. Together the team introduced NCO and its multitude of programs focusing on the BUILD program and it’s many benefits to the community.
Ibarra is the NCO Director of Community Wellness Projects (Gaddy is assistant director) and is head of nine programs including the BUILD program as well as the New Digs program. Ibarra shared some background on the organization. She said, “NCO is a community action agency. Community action agencies were started back in the 60s under Lyndon B Johnson’s war on poverty initiative and so NCO here in Lake and Mendocino counties has been in place since 1968.” She further explained their vision of “Healthy and safe communities with equitable opportunities for all.” She said they strive to attain this vision by supporting individuals to get the resources they need in order to re-enter the workforce, find gainful employment and stable, affordable housing. Ibarra noted that the organization is composed of over 250 employees and works with a large number of partners to provide the best most efficient services.
Ibarra also discussed the New Digs program which provides case management services for up to 18 months to get individuals into stable housing. This program works in conjunction with the BUILD program where, according to Fiedler, “Crews of six trainees work on projects that positively impact the community while gaining soft and hard skills.” Fiedler is the project coordinator for the BUILD program and explained how the program works by helping landlords physically and financially create residences with livable standards, and in turn agree to rent those units to individuals in the New Digs program.
The program began in 2020 under the name “Building Homes Building Lives” but later changed the name to BUILD and to date has had 27 participants including 18 that have graduated and 17 who are now employed.
The program provides both classroom style instruction and hands on training in the field, fully preparing participants for a career in construction. BUILD currently has six participants who recently graduated from the program and have been offered jobs with larger construction firms like DanCo. Willis shared some of his experience with NCO in his position of project assistant, noting a couple of participants that not only stood out but illustrated the program’s mission. Gavin Ingram was a program graduate that had come to the BUILD program from an in-patient rehabilitative center with a referral from probation wanting to start over and make his family proud. He took a job with Contractor Eli Andrews. Willis said, “We are in the business of second, third, and fourth chances.” Isela Martinez is another graduate who was working agricultural migrant circuits when she applied for the program, finding her passion for flooring and getting an employment offer from her internship.
Looking towards the future NCO hopes to expand the BUILD program into Mendocino County with another crew but is facing delays rooted in funding and job availability as, according to Fiedler, not many construction companies are hiring like they normally do. They also continue to seek relationships with contractors in hopes of improving those circumstances. Willis said, “When these large projects come up, think about the BUILD program. When you’re in meetings, ask if they are wiling to allow us to come in.”
Laura McAndrews Sammel from the Lake County Chamber of Commerce asked where the funding comes from for these programs to which Ibarra responded, “Mostly grant, our base funding as a community action agency we get community block grants from the feds.” Clearlake resident Jeffrey Dryden inquired if it were possible to take on more than six participants at a time, with Ibarra responding, “That’s something that Justin and I will be working on as we expand.” Fiedler added, “Forging relationships with contractors is a slow process and it takes a while to build trust.”
The next class of six will begin in August and requirement information as well as applications are available online at ncoinc.org. The Judge’s Breakfast is held every Thursday morning at 7 a.m. in the Clearlake Senior Center and is open to the public.
