Fighting for disconnected youth, on Capitol Hill and across the nation

Around 1 in 6 young people are disconnected from work and school. These youth need more outreach to remain a productive part of society — and if they can, then both they and society will benefit, as our own Michele Corey argued today on Capitol Hill.

Corey, Vice President for Programs for Voices for Michigan’s Children, testified at a hearing today on “Reclaiming Our Nation’s Youth,” where she made the case for helping disconnected youth re-engage with their communities. If we can connect these youth with opportunity, society would benefit to the tune of $7 billion and millions of young people would gain employable skills. However, it takes investment. It can take more than a year to work with many of these kids — the process of winning them back is not quick, but neither was the process of losing them.

The hearing also featured the stories of real kids. There was one story of a child from Detroit whose grandmother got a flier from church about a community organization. He now rebuilds homes for foster children – he contributes to the community and tells kids there are other routes they can take in life

Also check out this infographic released today from our member organization Westchester Children’s Association. It shows how society loses when kids drop out and rallies us behind a message of reinvestment in our kids.