*Did you know that currently the opportunity youth amounts to 4.6 million souls? This statement signifies those young individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 who aren’t a participant in the labor market nor are they enrolled in school. 4.6 million! In other words, this means every child below the age of 9 in the United States.

Can the US Afford to Ignore These Young Individuals?

Even though these young people have had aspirations at some point in their lives, they naturally experience a disconnection from work places or schools. This is why it becomes more and more unlikely that their aspirations will be met. Most of the children in the black community know exactly how this feels.

The question, however, is: can the US afford to lose these ‘Opportunity Youth?’ Employers can be seen complaining about lesser amounts of applicants who are qualified for the job, but do they also realize the social costs of not supporting these young groups?

The Cost of Opportunity Youth

According to some studies, the public and personal costs of ignoring these disastrous trajectories of the youth can cost up to $6.3 trillion. This amount represents what can be lost if these children lose hope for their aspirations. Doesn’t this make Opportunity Youth a local and a national issue?

The Opportunity Youth Movement

This program, brought to us by the Aspen Institute, has been working since 2012 to come up with the most lasting and vibrant solutions for the social and economic problems faced by the youth. They are working their best to support communities in need by expanding their mobilities and eliminating all systematic barriers.

A Two-Fold Goal

The Opportunity Youth Movement has a goal which is being implemented on two levels. These include:

1. To build strong examples of success which utilize the collective impact of community collaboration. With these, they can deepen pathways towards better opportunities for education and employment.
2. Strengthen the need for the adoption of a collective impact. By doing so, the scale of paving pathways for community change can be increased considerably.

Currently, a quarter of the opportunity youth in the US have been successfully targeted. This means that about 1.2 million of the young individuals in the US are a part of the Opportunity Youth Movement. Its time you and your community also joined their cause.

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