Tacoma Boat Builders creates transformational opportunities for marginalized and underserved youth through positive mentorship, woodworking, and traditional wooden boat building. Tacoma Boat Builders (TBB) began as a commitment by a few dedicated boat builders and sailors of the South Sound to share their passion for the unique experience of building and using a wooden boat on blue water. These experiences can change the trajectory of a troubled life. Too few young people living in Tacoma, a powerful port city, know the beauty and power of crafting a wooden boat and taking it out on the water. Tacoma Boat Builders (TBB) is designed to be a community-based intervention and recidivism-reduction program created to work with at-risk youth referred through the Pierce County court system. With strong backing by judges, probation officers and community leaders, we feel that TCBB has a unique approach to working with these youth, and the support and passion necessary to make it a reality. Each year, Pierce County courts dispose of tens of thousands of juvenile cases. The majority of these cases are young males, under the age of 17, at a time in their lives where every wrong decision can have profound consequence. As of May 22nd, 2013 there are 413 youth involved with Pierce County Juvenile Court. Of this number 320 are high school age and 238 are male. The need for community-based assistance is great. In addition to the financial impact of juvenile incarceration to our community, there are also the issues of public safety and a vulnerable population that becomes disenfranchised from educational opportunities and familial support systems. These factors can contribute to a cycle of poverty, gang-involvement and further incarceration. TBB’s focus on design and building of boats will help to develop academic learning skills in an experiential environment of adventure and exploration. At TBB youth will also learn pro-social and team-centered behaviors that will increase empathy, altruism and optimism. They will find a place where they are safe, and where they belong. They will learn that they have a place in our community and that they are valued. TBB offers a safe and engaging experience that can lead to expanded horizons, better decision-making, higher employability, positive participation in our community and reduced recidivism. In Pierce County, scarce, but successful programs demonstrate that with the right combination of structure, respect, encouragement and focus, troubled young people can find their path through hardships and difficulty. TBB is positioned to be one of the scarce programs that offer “a way through” for young, adjudicated males of Pierce County.
