Noah Saleh – YouthBuild at Heart of Oregon Corps

March 31, 2026

For Noah Saleh, YouthBuild has been like a family. “You have a lot of people to talk to… You’re not alone. I know there’s a lot of people out there who don’t feel they could go to anyone or don’t know what to do in certain situations. Here, you get to work through it, and you have a lot of options.”

At Heart of Oregon, Noah is involved in the YouthBuild program, which enables members to earn their GED, high school diploma, or college credits, learn job skills, and serve their community by building affordable housing in Central Oregon. YouthBuild members alternate between education weeks and construction weeks. During construction weeks, Noah goes out to the construction site from Monday through Thursday and works from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., before returning home to Redmond. For education weeks, Noah goes through various subjects and prepares to take the GED. On Fridays during both weeks, he has Leadership Fridays, which are dedicated to personal development. “We all get together and we learn how to make resumes, and learn how to do interviews for jobs, and how we could make YouthBuild better.”

Education takes place in Redmond, though construction of affordable housing occurs across Central Oregon. “We just finished our first house in Sisters. And then we just started a duplex in Prineville.” The entire YouthBuild program lasts a year, and Noah says this is the maximum duration to finish a house as well.

After the year in the program, members also have a year of follow up with YouthBuild. “They will contact us, catch up with us to make sure we’re doing well, make sure we’re getting things done that we wanted, like get our job that we wanted or get into schools, get into colleges, so basically a year of follow up to help us learn how to do things on our own once we leave the program.”

It's evident from Noah’s story that YouthBuild not only talks the talk but walks the walk too. Members are supported in their academic and professional endeavors, as well as in their personal lives, even after they complete the program. As Noah puts it, “As long as you are putting in the effort to do what they are helping you with, they honestly will guide you. Just come in with a smile.”

YouthBuild participants range from age 16 to 24. Members earn a small stipend during the program for work in the classroom and on the construction site, equaling $500 biweekly. If YouthBuild sounds like something you might be interested in, learn more about Heart of Oregon’s program at heartoforegon.org/programs/youthbuild.html.

Other organizations offering YouthBuild programs in Oregon are:

• Portland YouthBuilders in Portland, and
• Community Services Consortium YouthBuild in Linn County.