In an effort to help low-income teens and adults in Alachua County, Gainesville Police this month announced plans to partner with a city youth program to operate an educational center near GPD Headquarters.
The recently renamed Banks-Cosby Youth Empowerment Center, located at 635 NW Sixth St., will house GPD’s Brave Overt Leaders of Distinction program and the Gainesville-based Project Youthbuild, both of which teach life skills to underserved members of the community ages 16 to 24.
At a groundbreaking held Aug. 11, Youthbuild graduate Carly Pace said she owes a lot to the program, which helped her earn a job for the city and at Bo Diddley Community Plaza.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do that without the program,” she said.
Both programs provide life-skills training to low-income youth, some of whom may not have graduated from high school.
GPD and the Institute of Workforce Innovation, which created Project Youthbuild, will both set aside $120,000 to renovate the building, which is currently vacant.
The building is slated to be complete by 2017, said GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias.
At a groundbreaking for the new center held Aug. 11, Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe and U.S. Representative Keith Perry both said it was important to develop strong community relations and help underserved populations.
“We approach this project like a family,” Poe said. “And the program welcomes every individual in as a family member.”
