About Opportunity Youth (OY)
Every good service or program starts with a strong foundation of who it serves.
Let’s talk facts about Opportunity Youth in Memphis.
This module provides an overview of the types of people we are talking about when we discuss Opportunity Youth (or OY). We start with looking at OY from a national perspective and the proven benefits of helping them reconnect. From there we look specifically at OY in Memphis, including the challenges they face and the goals they have. We also correct some common myths about OY.
Main
Takeaways
OY exist across the country, in every state and community.
Programs and services should recognize that young people often face multiple, overlapping challenges at the same time
It is possible to reduce OY rates through proactive outreach, programming, and services.
Helping young adults connect and stay connected has huge economic and social benefits at the individual and community level.
Who is this module for?
Organizational Leaders
Frontline staff
Marketing and communication staff
Programs and Opportunity Managers.
Why this
matters
Builds shared understanding
and empathy. One of the things that OY look for more than anything else is to be seen as individuals. Showing understanding of what they may be going through is critical to being empathetic and helping them feel safe working with you and your organization.
Helps meet OY where they are. The more you understand a group of people you’re hoping to reach, the more you can ensure your outreach strategies and communications are correctly focused.
Knowledge helps correct unconscious bias. We all make assumptions about others. Many of those assumptions were things we learned or experienced when we were younger and came from incomplete information. Unconscious biases shape our interactions and can lead to poor service delivery.
Helps refine and prioritize offerings. A better understanding of people’s challenges and needs is critical to creating services that they will use.
About Opportunity Youth (OY)
The challenge of young people (ages 16 to 24) “being disconnected” from educational and employment opportunities has been a challenge for a long time. And there have been many terms for this category of people. Unfortunately, for generations, most of those terms used stigmatizing language: “Disconnected Youth,” “At-Risk Youth,” or even worse, “Dropouts” and “Juvenile Delinquents.” All of that language framed the individuals being described as problems or threats to society. That is known as “deficiency-based framing.”, or language that focuses only on what people lack rather than their strenghts.This kind of language helps cement unconscious biases that stack the deck against the very people they were trying to help. In the early 2000s, it was clear that a new approach was needed.The term “Opportunity Youth” emerged in the early 2010s. In 2012 President Obama’s White House Council for Community Solutions’ used it in their final report focusing on young people ages 16–24 who were neither in school nor working;. The same year, the Aspen Institute launched its Forum for Community Solutions and Opportunity Youth Forum.“Opportunity Youth” is an example of an asset and strengths-based approach (something we will discuss throughout the playbook). It emphasizes that these young adults possess many positive assets and that communities benefit by reconnect with them and helping them succeed.
OY In the Memphis Area
20% of our youth and young adults—27,000 in total—can be categorized as OY. Sadly, our rate is among the highest in the country (My Voice, Our Choice: The Shelby County YPAR Preliminary Report).
You can find OY in every zip code and neighborhood across the county. Shelby County’s rate of youth disconnection has been stable for over 30 years.
This is an intergenerational challenge. Many of today’s local OY are the children of past OY. In some cases, their grandparents and other ancestors may have been OY as well. Generations of people in our city have faced similar challenges, and we need to work together to help them be successful. Learn more about the challenges that local OY are navigating.
They also share common goals. As part of our research into local OY, we surveyed them about about their highest priority goals. The top four items were:
Find more information about this study here:
While some people mistakenly believe these young adults do not care about connecting, the reality is they want to improve their lives but are often unsure about what steps they should take. Supporting young people in this process is an opportunity for communities, organizations, and systems to create lasting impact.
62%
Find a better job
53%
Improve
my education
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39%
Helping my
family
46%
Improve my physical and mental health
The Opportunities That Come With Helping OY
While the challenges that create OY may seem impossible to overcome, other cities have reduced their OY rates through proactive programs and services. Some metro areas, like Chattanooga, Boston, and Minneapolis–St. Paul, worked to reduce their OY rates down to under 7%! And lowering those rates has big advantages for everyone!
The “Opportunity” in OY is real. Here are some examples of the benefits from helping OY connect and stay connected with the services they need to advance their lives:
Higher earnings and tax revenue.
Staying connected into adulthood is associated with earning about $31,000 more per year by the thirties; Social Science Research Council’s Measure of America report estimates this translates to roughly $11,900 more federal tax revenue per connected young adult each year.
Fewer arrests and incarcerations.
New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) reduces arrests during the program summer by 17% (felonies –23%) and, in longer-term analyses, is linked to lower incarceration among participants.
Reduced social safety net costs.
Each young person reconnected to school/work averts an estimated lifetime taxpayer burden of about $170,740 (and $529,030 to society) in 2011 dollars—stacked across a national cohort this totals $1.56T to taxpayers and $4.75T to society.
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Less violent crime.
In a randomized trial in Chicago, a summer jobs program cut violent-crime arrests by 43% over the following 16 months—effects that persisted after the job ended.
Improved tax revenue.
MOA estimates that reconnecting today’s OY would yield roughly $55B/year in additional federal revenue alone, with city-level gains coming from both improved tax revenues and changes to program spending.
Staff morale improves.
Looking for potential instead of problems sustains hope and reduces burnout.