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 Five years later and the success story continues for Julio Figueroa, who participated in the Tomorrow’s Youth Today (TYT) Program in Buffalo. When Julio came to Catholic Charities in 2004, he had no job, no high school diploma and a lack of hope for his future. Through the program he received his GED, obtained a job as a security guard and enrolled in ITT Technical Institute in Amherst, where he graduated with honors.
While attending ITT in 2005, Julio spoke on behalf of Catholic Charities at the annual news conference that kicks off the Appeal. At that time, he spoke of the impact TYT had on his life.
“When I look back to where I started, I didn’t have anything,” Julio said. “Now, I have a job, I’m going to school and there are so many doors open to me – and it’s all because of Catholic Charities.”
Tomorrow’s Youth Today Program is an education and employment program that offers several services to out of school youth ages 16 to 24 throughout Erie County. The program is administered through Catholic Charities' Department of Education and Workforce Development, which has been providing General Educational Development (GED) preparation, educational instruction, job readiness skills, employment assistance and life skills training to Erie County residents since 1975. All of the GED instructors are licensed and certified New York State public school teachers. The TYT program served nearly 1,396 youths in 2009.
Recently, Julio reconnected with Catholic Charities’ via its Facebook page and he updated us about his journey since 2005. After completing school he obtained a position for a medical simulation company named METI in Florida in which he is putting to use his computer electronics technology degree. METI is a worldwide leader in medical simulation and educational software. With hard work and dedication he received a promotion last year as a regional service manager for the west coast and now resides in Arizona.
Julio has done very well, but he hasn’t forgotten Catholic Charities and he still credits the TYT program.
“There were times that I wanted to give up, and Jim and the program gave me that support that none of my parents gave me,” said Julio. “You give people like me a second chance and don't give up on us.”
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