By Shauna Snover
The mission for the Urban Community Corporation is to provide marketable skills for youths who are at-risk and disadvantaged.
Through the revitalization of vacant buildings, J. Luis Acosta hopes not only to restore the decrepit structures, but to also restore the lives of his volunteers. Acosta is CEO and co-founder of the UCC, a non-profit organization.
“Our goal is for abandoned property and abandoned individuals to be merged together in order to be cohesive to the community,” Acosta said.
Acosta wants to help individuals who are coming out of the judicial system, those who may have felonies and have no other prospects. He also wants to guide youth who are just beginning to get into trouble with the law and turn them around before it is too late.
Educational aspect
There are two main objectives for youths involved in the program, Acosta said. The goals are:
Change of course for troubled teen
Arson damaged the Massachusetts Avenue Project’s main building on 382 Massachusetts Ave. in the summer of 2005. It also threatened to destroy the life of Carlos Ortiz. Ortiz, who was 16 at the time, was going to be charged as an adult in the crime.
That’s when Acosta became involved. Instead of being prosecuted, Ortiz had to perform community service and began working with the UCC.
Ortiz helped to restore an apartment building on Massachusetts Avenue. As progress was made on the building, Acosta could also see growth in Ortiz, who now at 18, dreams of becoming a contractor.
Community collaboration
The UCC works with numerous organizations throughout the Buffalo area in order to develop a pipeline to the community, Acosta said. These agencies include:
Service-learning partner at Buffalo State College
Acosta is also a partner with the volunteer and service-learning center at BSC. Acosta is involved with job preparedness workshops.
Susannah White, VISTA Youth Outreach Coordinator, has worked with Acosta on several occasions. The UCC is dedicated to give youths new job opportunities on the West Side, where typically there have been so few options, she said.
“They have been successful because they focus on an identifiable skill, which uses physical labor and energy,” White said.
Creating a permanent place for young adults
Acosta wants to utilize all the viable resources the community has to offer in order to bring back positive results. One of the things he is most passionate about is sustaining the youth.
“There is no future to anchor to in Buffalo,” he said. “Old plans, old dreams and old regimes don’t work anymore.”
Through his work at the UCC, Acosta says he is trying to establish a better community to live, with decent career choices for young adults.
“It’s about reaching the impossible dream,” Acosta said.
Contact Shauna Snover at snovst13@mail.buffalostate.edu
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Urban Community Corporation volunteers attend a ribbon cutting ceremony.