Valerie Aplicano beamed with confidence and teenage joy, saying she feels like when she turns 15, her world will expand with opportunities.

Aplicano is eager to get her learner's permit so she can start driving, start working at Chick-fil-A and help out more with her family's finances. She also looks forward to beginning tenth grade to continue working toward her dream school — the University of Florida — where she plans to study biology. 

Optimism wasn't always so high for this ambitious teen, who recalls being in a "dark place" about two years ago. She was struggling with depression and twice was involuntarily admitted to a mental health institution, she told TCPalm. 

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Aplicano's father gave TCPalm permission to disclose her medical information.

The Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, commonly called the Baker Act, allows judges, medical professionals and law enforcement officers to involuntarily admit people to a mental health facility for up to 72 hours if there are signs the person could be a danger to themselves or others, either through neglect or violence.  

After Aplicano was Baker Acted the second time, her therapist told her about a program that teaches life, coping and vocational skills — introducing her to Project Lift. 

Aplicano enrolled in the girls after-school program in March 2021 and graduated this July. Now, she returns to the Palm City location as a mentor for other kids in the program for welding, carpentry and auto repair. 

"I've changed and I'm now able to help other people while also helping myself," said Aplicano. "It's nice to know they can talk to someone their same age and be like, 'There's actually someone that's been through the same thing as me.' It's nice for them because they will know they are not alone."

Bob Zaccheo, a psychotherapist and CEO of Project Lift, founded the program in 2010 because he wasn't getting through to some his younger patients in an office setting. 

He discovered some were more open outside the office, while he taught them how to bait a fly fishing rod, for example. So he created a nonprofit focusing on mental health through vocational education — "therapy under the hood of a car," as his website says. 

"In therapy, you are constantly looking to replace the nefarious behavior, whether it's depression, anxiety, stress, ADHD, family functional issues or substance use disorders," said Zaccheo. "The only way to deal with that diagnosis is to replace it with something ... If you're depressed and anxious and you don't replace it with something like welding, carpentry or boatbuilding, then that original behavior is going to get worse." 

In 2021, Project Lift served nearly 700 kids — about 467 at the Palm City location and about 200 at the Belle Glade location. No data has been recorded for the Fort Pierce location since it just opened this year, according to Zaccheo. 

It costs the program $21 a day to aid in rehabilitating at-risk youth, compared to $209 a day if the child were in a juvenile detention center, according to Project Lift. 

The U.S. Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Building America grant program gave $5 million to Project Lift for the next four years, starting in September. The money will fund trade programs at all three Project Lift locations, in conjunction with Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a national construction industry trade association.

"Project Lift now offers a pre-apprenticeship program that leads to a full apprenticeship opportunity through a partnership with ABC," according to Lauren Adrian, the nonprofit's chief impact officer. 

Project Lift has not determine exactly how it will spend the money yet, but the staff was excited to be the only Florida recipients and to be selected for the maximum amount.

"It's the mental health piece, that's the innovation, and I think it is what enabled us to stand out and get this grant," Adrian said.

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Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County expansion

Project Lift expanded into St. Lucie County in February with the donation of a three-story, 7,500-square-foot house at 1009 Delaware Ave. in Fort Pierce, where about 30 boys go for therapy and trade instruction each week. 

The program helps them complete their high school education and get to their court hearings — to "support them in the good and bad," said Vic Miller, program director.

Five kids have gone through the pathway program at Project Lift Fort Pierce, where they complete their high school diploma on-site with a teacher who utilizes the Penn Foster curriculum as a means to help kids who dropped out or were expelled. 

Starting in September, the Fort Pierce location will expand its trade operations on the property, building additional spaces for welding, boat repair, automotive repair and HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) repair lessons. Project Lift currently offers plumbing and carpentry there. 

Miller hopes to eventually help about 150 teens at the Fort Pierce location.

Miller wishes a program like Project Lift existed when he was growing up, saying it could have improved his and his friends' lives. He served 10 years in federal prison before becoming a behavioral health technician and working in the substance abuse field before landing at Project Lift in 2018.

"For me, coming from that background, you let them (the kids) know you can either do (Project Lift) or you can end up in prison,—or worse the graveyard," Miller said. 

Joshua Golden was referred to the program by a friend. When he began in the career advancement program in May, he could tell his life would be heading in a positive direction.  

Getting in trouble with the law and speaking out against his mother are things he regrets doing prior to Project Lift, but now he sees a better man and future for himself.

"Project Lift has opened up a lot of opportunities for me that I can use in my future or in my life," said Golden, 19, who received his high school diploma on Aug. 5 through the Penn Foster Curriculum after being expelled. 

Golden said he plans to go to college to study architecture with the goal of becoming an architectural engineer. 

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm's underserved communities reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429 or follow her on Twitter @gmontesano13.