D-YES began as the Interfaith Youth Energy Squad in October 2008 under a non-profit organization called Voices for Earth Justice.  The program transitioned to its current home with WARM Training Center in 2010. Since then, 58 youth have worked with D-YES to perform over 1,300 home visits.  Youth have also learned about green issues and have completed their own green projects in the city.

When it began, D-YES was one of a handful of programs that trained youth to do basic energy-efficient retrofits.