ITHACA,N.Y.(WENY)-- Finger Lakes Reuse expanded to 700 West Buffalo Street. The Non-profit also expanded its Reset program that helps unemployed, disabled and community members with criminal records get the training needed to obtain jobs in the community. 

Through this new expansion Reuse will be able to train their workers and volunteers and prepare them to take on construction related jobs. 

 Aloja Airewele, Training Center Coordinator, said that this plan has been in the works for some time and that there is no better time than now to kick start this expansion. 

“ Our job sector is constantly changing and it became even more meaningful during this COVID crisis,” said Airewele. “ I found out that Reuse was an essential service and I was just finishing working with the young people who are incarcerated and it could not be a better time.” 

Community members that have gone through the Reset program have gone on to work at various positions throughout the community such as Cornell University and Bright Works Computer Consulting. 

Diane Cohen, Executive Director of Finger Lakes Reuse, stressed the importance of giving people a second chance and she said that the Reset program allows people that chance. 

“We're demonstrating that it is possible to find good workers who may have made a mistake in the past or two but have figured out that this is not the way they want to live life,” said Cohen. 

This new location just opened on August 28th and Cohen explained someone already donated a house. The house was located in Cortlandville and was being torn down, so Cohen and a group of volunteers got together and took apart the entire house by hand. They saved all of the materials and are planning to sell them and put the funds towards the Rest program. 
 

Reuse partnered with Cornell Cooperative extension to make this expansion possible.