Formerly incarcerated, homeless men graduate as skilled maintenance technicians in Jefferson Park

Taking the next step was especially emotional for a special graduating class in Jefferson Park.

More than a dozen men received their maintenance technician licenses Thursday night from a non-profit trade school, Skilledtrades4u. These graduates came even further than most — they've overcome major hardships like past incarceration and homelessness.

"You gave me something back that I lost a long time ago, and that's faith in myself to be somebody," one of the graduates said.

Skilledtrades4u provides free, 10-week technical training courses in HVAC/plumbing to inner-city men. At the end of the course, they receive a 608A federal license and $4,000 worth of tools needed for their new careers. The skilled work these graduates have become licensed in can pay as much as $45 per hour, the school said.