Devastated young construction workers get outpouring of support after tools stolen

Young construction workerswere floored earlier this week after arriving at their St. John'sjob site to discover many oftheir tools had vanished overnight.

It was a loss compounded by the nature of the project itself;Impact Construction is a training program for vulnerable youth that teaches them hands-on skills they can one day bring to the job market.

About $2,000 in protective equipment and tools were taken from a locked shed after thieves forced their way inside.

The discovery was a disappointment,saidChelseyMacNeil, director of employment at Choices for Youth.

"This a program that the youth have been involved in for four months. They're a great crew and they're so connected not only with the program, but also with one another."

The workers had paid for some of their tools out of pocket, MacNeil said.

Impact Construction was halfway through an eight-month build on Cashin Avenue, said employment co-ordinator Dave Banfield.

The finished product will provide fiveaffordable housing units for young mothers.

"Instead of just getting a construction company to build that for us, we're createdthisprogram where we can get youth in our community very real, significant job experience," Banfieldsaid.

"They're getting veryattached to this project and they're having a real sense of pride in building this housing unit. They're just about getting ready to put the roof on."

That progress was only briefly halted after the theft, however;when local tradespeople caught wind of the setback, they dropped by with donations for the crew.

Replacement tools piled up as word spread on social media.

"The community really rallied for us," MacNeil said.

By the end of the day, the sorry situation had completely turned around, she said, with the equipment fully restocked and the workers glowing from an outpouring of goodwill from the industry.

MacNeil explained some of thosedonors, mainly independent contractors, were committedto helping the young crew through their transitions, andbelieves the workers' personal progress led to the swift response.

When people know they're helping youth turn their livesaround, she added, "that really resonates."

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