A Cook County initiative to encourage at-risk youths to reach their educational and career potentials, rather than succumb to sordid lives on the street, has received its first grant from the Illinois Bar Foundation.

BUILD Inc. (an acronym for Broader Urban Involvement and Leadership Development) has worked in some of Chicago's toughest neighborhoods for 36 years.

Headed by executive director Freddy Calixto, the organization has tried to stem the violence that chips away at the lives of young people and their hopes of breaking away to contribute to the safety and stability of communities.

The Bar Foundation grant of $2,500 supports Project BUILD, a 13-year-old program of case management follow-up and rehabilitation for 150 youths who have been released from Cook County's temporary Juvenile Detention Center.

The young men and women receive support and advocacy designed to reduce recidivism usually caused by the illegal and antisocial behavior or individuals and gangs.

BUILD's professional staff of 19 full-time and 17 part-time people is supplemented by a corps of 100 volunteers. Financial support is provided by the Cook County Board and matching funds from private sources and foundations.

Among the organization's most challenging goals is engaging gang members and other youths in programs and activities that will help them prepare for responsible adulthood by developing constructive behavioral patterns.

Emphasis is placed on meeting the need for friendship, status and association outside of the gang structure, as well as creating positive interaction with various ethnic and racial groups.

An important key is facilitating communication and cooperation among parents, community residents, businesses and legitimate social systems.

Founded in 1969 as a gang intervention program for teenagers in one Chicago neighborhood, BUILD now serves eight communities directly and has countywide impact through Project BUILD.

A multi-pronged approach includes prevention, intervention, rehabilitation, college and career preparation, and community outreach that entails collaboration with schools, parks and other institutions.

During 2004-05, BUILD recorded a significant reduction in rates of recidivism for youths in its programs. Only 32 percent of 137 case-management participants returned to the detention facility – less than half the rate for other incarcerants.

And among 62 youths involved in more intensive follow-up in Core Groups, the recidivism rate was just 10 percent.

Another specialized program, BUILDing Futures, concentrates on raising academic achievement rates. Of 32 graduating seniors in 2004, 29 are attending college, one is in automotive school, and two are employed. All 73 of the program's 2005 graduates were accepted for college entrance.

BUILD serves youths from primarily low-income, minority families. More than 90 percent are of African American or Latino origin; 60 percent are male, and their ages range from 10 to 17.

The program received technical support from the Illinois Center for Violence Prevention and the Loyola University Criminal Justice Department, which has credited the recidivism effort as saving money for the county government and taxpayers.

Calixto thanked the Bar Foundation for helping “to keep young people from continuing the cycle of violence and detention and to assist them in creating and implementing positive plans for their lives.”