BELLE GLADE, Fla. — A local program is helping at-risk teens not only learn a vocational trade but also enhance their mental health.
Sanchin Ramsay is among those in the Project LIFT program.
WATCH BELOW: How this program is helping at-risk teens in Palm Beach, Martin counties
"I started really liking (welding)," Ramsay said. "I think I will pursue a career in welding."
Project LIFT helps improve the lives of at-risk teens through mental health counseling while developing vocational skills.
CEO Bob Zaccheo discussed how the program began.
"I am a licensed psychotherapist, and I was very frustrated doing treatment out of a clinical office," Zaccheo said. "When you talk with young men, you find out that they don't really open up very quickly. One day I brought to work a fishing rod with me and taught him how to tie a dry fly on the end of a fly-fishing rod. And before I knew he was talking about all of the anger that he was experiencing."
The Quantum Foundation helps keep Project LIFT going.
Nate Cousineau, the vice president of Community Impact at Quantum Foundation, outlined their role in the program.
"We started funding Project LIFT back in 2018 with an initial seed funding to start the program out in Belle Blade," Cousineau said. "Since then we have funded them for about a half a million dollars in various grants over the years."
Zaccheo laid out how the programs teens learn can help them in a variety of ways.
"The skilled trades is really a great replacement behavior for depression, anxiety, stress, attention deficiency, hyperactivity," Zaccheo said. "I reached out to my friend who is a mechanic and I said to him, 'Would you consider teaching the kids that I am working with how to do automotive repair while I do psychotherapy under the hood of a car?'"
Zaccheo said the concept is working.
"There's a lot of dignity associated with mental health and trades coming together," Zaccheo said. "Our primary investment is always going to be an increase in mental health. We want to see an increase in their function so that they can be better wherever they go."
Project LIFT is located in Belle Glade, Palm City and Stuart. Click here to learn more.
