About Us
The SAW Youth Program has been established by Sisters at Work under the S.A.W. Construction Company. This program runs for nine consecutive weeks at the Blackstone Community Center (50 West Brookline Street, Boston, MA 02118). This program empowers young women between the ages of 14-24 who reside in Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, the South End and Roslindale, and provides them with the opportunities to improve their quality of life and to create stronger communities in which they live
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Description
This program is designed for young women between the ages of 14-24 who reside in the Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, Roslindale, or South End neighborhoods. The program will introduce young women of the Boston communities to construction trades, as well as life skills, work readiness, financial literacy, career exploration, post-secondary education options and health education. Workshops will be held on a weekly basis, and will include resume building, health and fitness, beauty, finance and “Building Green.” The SAW Summer Youth Program will also contribute its time and services to the Boston communities by assisting with clean up of potential job sites, vacant lots, neighborhood parks and common spaces. Guest speakers will discuss an array of professions and the steps needed to succeed in today’s work force. Our goals are to:
• Provide a safe environment that will not only be educational, but will also build self-esteem, respect for the workplace, the participants, and others
• Provide participants with knowledge of a career field which is under-explored by females
• To “go green”- we not only have an obligation to keep our community streets clean and safe, but to also do our part for the environment
• Display the opportunities each of our communities hold, other than the violent environment they could become
• To give young women in the Boston community the knowledge that they have more choices in life other than the stereotypes and harmful choices they are exposed to daily (i.e. gangs, violence, and drugs)
Given the need for more summer youth programs in the Boston communities, SAW recognizes the value and impact that our summer youth program will have. SAW will give back to the community by educatingyoung women in a safe and nurturing environment, promoting an in-depth understanding of construction trades while strengthening our communities by improving constructive options for at-risk young women. The program is geared to prepare young women for a trade by assisting them to become competent in different sectors of the field. We will promote hands-on work experience and give a profound look into opportunities that may not have previously been considered outside of the summer program.
Executive Director
Mikey Myles
My name is Me’Chelle “Mikey” Myles. I was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, growing up in the neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, Hyde Park and attending the Boston Public Schools. During the time I lived on the North Shore, I began building decks and realized how much I enjoyed this type of work. Therefore, I joined New England Regional Council of Carpenters Apprenticeship Training Fund in 1998, graduating in 2005. To this day, I actively support the Carpenters Training Center and consider it to be a great influence on my current pursuits and passions in life. Since then, I have become an active member of a variety of Boston community groups: Advisory Board for the Madison Park Vocational School's Carpentry Program; Carpenter’s Women’s Committee; Dorchester Roxbury Labor Committee; Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative; Roxbury Master Strategic Planning Committee; MASS Tradeswomen Association; Policy Group on Tradeswomen'sIssues and Fund our Community/Cut Military Spending by 25% Committee. Additionally, I volunteered with BRICC (Building Real Careers in Construction for Young Women) – a programoffered by ABCD.
As satisfying as my work as a carpenter and my participation in community meetings had became, these activities were not enough for me! Before graduating from the CTC in 2005, I founded my own business: Sisters _ Work (S.A.W.) Construction Company. While continuing to be engaged in the construction field, in 2009 I founded the Sisters _ Work (S.A.W.) Summer Youth Program. Having been a passionate doer as well as a resident of Boston all my life and as one who thrives on building partnerships & community support networks everywhere I go, my greatest strengths are myenergy and tenacity coupled with an out-going personality, a directness and inherent understanding of what things benefit these young women. After all, I grew up right where they are growing up. These qualities have enabled me to successfully initiate the S.A.W. Youth Program. As a result, much needed commitments from funding sources are being sought after to sustain my vision and continue the program so desperately needed for girls in the under-served communities of our city
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