By Adam Strong and Shawnice Jackson Should our nation have an “opportunity guarantee” of education, training, and employment for all young adults? How can we as a nation truly achieve equity without a framework — and what could this framework look like? What do young adults need to be successful in high school and beyond? […]
It’s important to actively confront an American culture that continues to disproportionately and systemically punish black and brown people across the country – from incarceration to portrayal in the media, and treatment at school. At last month’s 4th Annual Civic Engagement Forum on Ending The School To Prison Pipeline, hosted by Think Make Live Youth […]
By Kisha Bird This column was written for Youth Today, the national news source for youth-service professionals, including child welfare and juvenile justice, youth development and out-of-school-time programming. “Here I was figuring out how to connect to resources. I was helping opportunity youth but didn’t do that for myself. I’m on a national stage and at […]
By Maharddhika In its second year, the Reconnecting Youth Campaign has set a bold goal: build on the success of its inaugural year, which saw a $195 million increase in Congressional funds to programs that provide pathways to school, work and job training for Opportunity Youth. This year’s goal is to secure enough federal funding […]
By Adam Strong The first time I met with a high-level policymaker, I was so nervous my neck actually went stiff. It was 2012, and I was meeting with then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, together with some of my fellow members of the OYUnited’s National Council of Young Leaders. For a moment, I was afraid […]
By Amanda Shabowich The first the first professional conference I ever attended was a totally new experience for me. I was 21 and I had never really traveled without my family or friends. I had definitely never been anywhere like Aspen, Colorado, and I had never presented anything about my work outside of my […]
By Shanice Turner Staffers entered the office buzzing and brimming with anticipation. The seating area was filled with people awaiting their meetings with Congressman John Lewis (D), the representative for the 5th Congressional District in Atlanta, Georgia, who’s known for being one of the most famous and courageous people within the Civil Rights Movement. Daniel […]
by Shawnice Jackson, OYUnited National Council Member The Reconnecting Youth Campaign kicked off its 2019 advocacy efforts with a winter convening that brought the diverse coalition of youth practitioners, youth leaders, funders, advocates, program staff and directors together in Washington, DC. Everyone in the room was there because we believe in the potential of Opportunity […]
By David Abromowitz A new generation of founders and leaders of community-based organizations is emerging. This cohort of former “opportunity youth” — young adults ages 16–24 from low-income communities who left school early and were not in the workforce — are building on their own experiences and channeling their energies into innovative approaches to uplift their communities. Take Terry […]
by Luis Bautista-Morales, Coordinator of the OYUnited Los Angeles Community Action Team The annual Opportunity Youth United Community Action Team Convening took place in December 2018, in Washington, D.C. It brought three or four leaders of each of the 17 OYUnited Community Action Teams (CATs) across the U.S. together to share and build on the […]
