There are 390 youth aged 16-24 in Addison County who are not employed, not in school, or are at risk of dropping out. Only 66% of our high schoolers agree or strongly agree that they matter to people in their community. Low levels of resiliency among youth and a sense of being undervalued by their community are undermining their belief in themselves and their ability to handle life’s inevitable challenges.
OUR SOLUTION:
- Building meaningful relationships between disconnected youth and caring mentors in an environment that encourages social and emotional skill building
- Expanding access to high quality programs that focus on putting disconnected youth on a pathway to advancing their education and/or career
- Supporting out-of-school time programs that focus on social and emotional skills like communication, teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, and grit
