How Lake Street Works is Empowering Teens to Break the Cycle of Poverty
Drive down Lake Street in South Minneapolis, and you’ll see some of the best the city has to offer. You’ll also see some of its hardest challenges.
The neighborhood around Lake Street and 4th Ave S is a rich blend of hardworking families, daring entrepreneurs, and a fierce commitment to building a better future. But woven into that same neighborhood are threads of hopelessness—families trapped in a cycle of poverty, and young people feeling like the world is stacked against them.
That’s why Lake Street Works calls this area home. “It’s not just that we know this neighborhood has some of the hardest working individuals in the city,” says Jess Coykendall, Director of Lake Street Works, “It’s also that this neighborhood has a greater need for a program like ours. A program that can help teenagers build a future worth working for.”
More Than Just Job Training
Lake Street Works is a 10-month vocational exploration program for high school seniors. Over the course of the school year, students come after school twice a week to learn trades like electrical work, plumbing, carpentry, masonry, CAD, HVAC, and more. These skills are in high demand and can lead to promising opportunities—but that’s only half of the equation.
“We aren’t just trying to help these kids get jobs,” Tammy Bakke, a mentor/coach for Lake Street Works, shares, “you can get a job anywhere. We are helping them start careers. And to build a career, you need good character.”
That’s why every class is split in half. One half is spent learning trades, and the other half is dedicated to life skills—things like money management, job search techniques, time management, and personal development.
“These are skills that will apply across all areas of their lives,” says Alex Hands, another coach with Lake Street Works. “I love when a student realizes they have more control and agency than they thought. They see that they can shape their future—that they’re not stuck.”
The Moment the Lightbulb Turns On
For coach Sam Ebute, these moments of realization are both literal and figurative. “Sometimes they’re wiring up their first electrical panel, and they flip the switch, and the light turns on. But you can see something inside them lighting up, too. They see they’ve done something real, something valuable, and that changes everything.”
The program currently serves 60 local high school seniors, but the demand is much higher—over 200 students applied this year alone, showing just how needed this opportunity is. One thing that makes Lake Street Works unique is that students are paid for attending class. “For a lot of these kids, their parents are counting on them to help bring income into the house,” says Lake Street Works coach Atlas Klus. “It’s a privilege to be able to do training instead of earning a paycheck. This way, our students don’t have to choose—they can do both.”
Expanding Horizons
In addition to classroom learning, Lake Street Works has built a broad network of skilled laborers, foremen, hiring managers, and industry leaders in the building trades. This network gives students access to field trips, construction sites, supply centers, and industry networking events. They’re getting firsthand experience of the work they might one day do, and they’re building connections that will help them get there.
Each student also gets individual support from a mentor/coach, who helps them figure out what’s next after high school—whether it’s pursuing a particular trade or exploring further education. The goal is to provide a clear path forward.
“Now I See a Path to Stability”
The combination of career exploration and personal support leads to bigger dreams and brighter futures. Victor, a recent graduate, explains it best: “Without Lake Street Works, I wouldn’t have gone to college. I wouldn’t have a direction. I didn’t find anything in school that stuck out to me, but this program changed what I thought was possible. Now I see a pathway to a stable life for me and my family. I’m not afraid to try. Hard work and a goal can get you far when you have a program like this guiding the way.”
“Growing up here, it can feel like the world is stacked against you,” says Coykendall, who grew up just around the corner from Lake Street Works’ training center. “We’re doing everything we can to stack the deck for these kids. We want them to have an unfair advantage when they apply for a job. We want people to look at their accomplishments and say, ‘That’s who we need on our team.’”
