A sizable number of teens and young adults in the U.S. are not in school, employed, or in job training. Civic leaders want to reconnect them to a path toward productive adulthood.
Welcome to another Saturday. It came around fast, right?
Jackie Valley had been talking with colleagues about the struggles of some young American men when she began looking for explanations and, because she鈥檚 a Monitor writer, for solutions. Her story widened. There鈥檚 a swath of young adults for whom life just isn鈥檛 clicking.聽
鈥淢y biggest takeaway is that, for the most part, 鈥榙isconnected youth鈥 are not lazy twentysomethings sitting around their parents鈥 houses playing video games,鈥 Jackie told me. 鈥淒isconnection usually stems from other circumstances in their lives.鈥 One young woman had needed to drop college for caregiving.聽
Jackie found answers near home. One organization had ditched rigid formulas (鈥渃ollege for all鈥 is a big one) in favor of serving specific needs 鈥 here for a softer entry with extra training, there for exposure to unconsidered paths. It鈥檚 about listening, and about care.
鈥淚 think what we're seeing in Las Vegas is an effort to reconnect these adrift young people,鈥 Jackie says, 鈥渂y connecting some of the dots in their lives.鈥
藴
You can find our latest news briefs and reported stories 鈥 including about yesterday鈥檚 U.S. jobs report and what it means 鈥 on our homepage.