KING COUNTY, Wash. — A program that gives apprenticeships to people experiencing homelessness graduated its first class of students on Friday.
The program is part of the state's Encampment Resolution Program, which trains people to enter the construction industry. Students in ANEW's four-week pre-apprenticeship course receive hands-on training to earn certificates in practices like traffic control, forklift operation and more within the Washington State Department of Transportation.
"Your past does not define you. Our past does not define us," said Nichole Alexander, the director of outreach and special initiatives for CoLEAD.
For some graduates, this is one of the first graduations they've had.
"I want to say to each one of the graduates that I am proud of you," Alexander said at the graduation ceremony. "From the bottom of my heart and my soul, this is what we do this for."
For the past four weeks, the group has been in and outside the classroom receiving hands-on training.
For graduate Sara Esque, it's about proving she can do it, not just to herself but to her family. She didn't have a lot of structure in the life she lived before, but that has changed.
"I'm finally able to say I'm proud of myself," Esque said.
Now, they can start working to pave their own way.
"We were all homeless and CoLEAD picked us all up," Esque said. "Now we are able to be on the track of success."
To learn more about the program, visit ANEW's website.
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