ìResidents save money, the state is reducing its energy use, cities are creating community, and the students become skilled, informed, and empowered. This program works!î
- Linda Maio, Berkeley City Council Member

The California Youth Energy Services (CYES) program benefits communities on three levels:

	Youth receive hands-on training and work experience. Youth learn technical skills, customer service and office administration; end of program provides letters of recommendation and job placement assistance.
	Residents receive free materials and services that reduce their resource consumption and utility bills. Low-income and elderly residents save an average of $100 annually on their utility bills.
	Communities are strengthened by the constructive youth-adult interaction of teens educating and providing valuable services to residents. In a voluntary survey of CYES clients, 90% of residents reported that their experience with the youth staff ìsurpassed expectationsî.

Program Need
Reducing Resource Consumption: Energy is central to all biological, developmental, and social systems on Earth. The consumption rate of natural energy resources is creating mass imbalance in Earthís ecology. In order to create a sustainable relationship with the natural world, we must manage our resource consumption with prudence and foresight. The United States has about 4% of the earthís population, and uses 25% of the worldís non-renewable energy resources. A significant portion of this energy could be saved through conservation measures such as home insulation and weatherization. Every year the amount of heat energy lost through un-insulated homes in the U.S. is equivalent to the amount of oil shipped through the Alaskan Pipeline for one year.

Engaging Youth: Studies have shown that California 9-12 grade students critically lack quality education in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines. According to the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Placement (NAEP) survey, only 15% of California teenage youth were proficient in science, as compared with 30% nationwide. Most notably, in low-income and underserved communities, youth are increasingly ill prepared for the challenges of a technically demanding labor market. These youth enter the workforce without any significant work experience or hands-on technical training. Without an education that ties to practical skills they have very little opportunity for starting a successful career.

Reducing utility bills for low-income: For many low-income families in California the cost of utilities has become increasingly burdensome. These families pay 14% or more of their annual incomes for energy compared with only 3.5% for non low-income families. Unable to pay gaping balances or hefty re-connection fees, some families are forced to relocate or cut back on basic living needs. CYES reduces the energy burden on low-income families by installing cost-effective, energy efficiency measures, such as: programmable thermostats, retractable clotheslines, weather-stripping, compact fluorescent lamps, and efficient-flow showerheads. These comprehensive measures have saved families an average of $100 annually on their utility bills.

Program Design
For the past three years California Youth Energy Servicesí flagship model has been a summer employment program for high school students in the city of Berkeley. During the eight-week program, students participate in three major components: a 10 day technical and professional training; employment as a youth energy retrofitter; and weekly workshops that focus on sustainable living topics. Students work 30 hours per week in the community, conducting site visits in teams of two under the supervision of an experienced adult. The 2003 Berkeley program consisted of 20 youth retrofitters who performed an average of two retrofits per day for six weeks, serving 383 households and saving residents $39,168 energy dollars per year.

CYES also offers an after school program in which youth participants conduct retrofits as a service-learning project. Participants throughout the East Bay Area have volunteered to help retrofit homeless shelters with much-needed energy and water conservation materials. In the fall of 2003 CYES piloted a service-learning project in the city of Lodi, California consisting of two intensive retrofitting weekend events; youth participated on a volunteer basis and received service-learning credit. The project trained 60 Lodi youth to retrofit the residences of over 200 Lodi low-income residents with resource conservation equipment, saving residents $13,000 annually in energy dollars.

Developments
In the calendar year 2004, California Youth Energy Services plans to expand from the city of Berkeley to neighboring communities in the East Bay area. CYES is available to partner with municipalities, utility companies, and community-based organizations. We offer cost-effective youth retrofitting programs, which reduce local resource consumption and offer youth meaningful employment and job skills training.

Additionally, CYES is developing the Shelter and Energy Internship Program (SEIP). This program will help teens design and implement community based projects such as installing solar ponds, gray water systems, and PV electrical systems. Through this program, CYES will offer youth participants continued employment and hands-on opportunities to learn about sustainable living technologies.