RBV Construction with Homeless Vets Project

 

On Wednesday, September 18, students from Rancho Buena Vista High School’s Construction CTE pathway joined peers from four other school districts to work on building six tiny houses designed to help homeless veterans. The project took place at the AGC Training Center in Lakeside (Associated General Contractors of America). Students worked alongside professional tradespersons to construct the moveable tiny houses.

The building project is conducted in partnership with the Warrior Village Project, whose mission is to provide “affordable, permanent housing for homeless veterans while training the next generation of home builders.”

“This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to work and learn alongside experienced tradespeople,” says Landon Cardenas, construction teacher at Rancho Buena Vista. “There’s nothing better than hands-on learning with experts. In addition to the technical learning, our students had a chance to see how their skills can be used to benefit and help others, which makes our community stronger.”

 

The tiny homes will be equipped with a kitchen, a bathroom, a sleeping area, and a heat pump. Students will work alongside professional tradespeople and participate in skills including carpentry, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, window and door installation, roofing, and more.

When completed, Warrior Village Project will work with nonprofits to deploy them to house homeless veterans.

“Our students are building with purpose, to provide truly affordable housing for homeless veterans. At the same time, we are exposing them to career options that are professionally and financially rewarding,” says Mark Pilcher of Warrior Village Project. “For every 5 building trades professionals who retire, only 2 are being replaced by young workers. Maintaining a skilled building trades workforce is critical to addressing our shortage of affordable housing.”

The homes being constructed were designed by Nick Mosely, founder of Tiny House, Inc, and a pioneer in the tiny home industry. Moseley will be on hand at the event to offer guidance and instruction to the student builders.

 

STUDENTS
All of the students are part of Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways within their schools. The Rancho Buena Vista students are part of a robust construction pathway, which last year saw the opening of a state-of-the-art 9,000-square-foot construction and welding facility.

“Vista Unified is very proud to partner on the Warrior Village Project,” says Robert Crowell, Career Pathways Coordinator for Vista Unified. “Our students get to learn in-demand skills from industry professionals while creating a home for an injured veteran. I can’t imagine a more win-win scenario for our CTE construction students.”

 

According to the San Diego Workforce Partnership, there are 148,992 people employed in the Energy, Construction, & Utilities Sector in San Diego County. The forecast for growth estimates a 10% sector growth in San Diego County over the next five years.

The event will feature spokespeople from AGC sharing with students about opportunities for paid apprenticeships within the building trades.