Our teacher Steven Sheldon and his outstanding program.

The article below shows the impact he is making in our local Pittsburgh community.

Trade Institute of Pittsburgh helps rebuild lives of ex-convicts

Seven years ago, Stephen Shelton began teaching ex-convicts to be bricklayers in a 20-by-50-foot former boiler room in Wilkinsburg.

Shelton on Monday welcomed visitors to the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh’s new classroom — a space 10 times as large as the boiler room — in a former Westinghouse factory in Homewood.

“We’ve trained almost 200 guys (since 2008). One hundred of them graduated, 76 of them are in full-time employment right now, and there’s been a whole lot of life-changing going on,” said Shelton, who began the program with his own money. “All they need is a hand up, and that’s what the trade institute is all about — giving guys a hand up.”

Read More at triblive.com