In Chicago, an estimated 45,000 teens and young adults like Wilson are not in school, college, or the workforce. That’s roughly 15% of the city’s 16- to 24-year-old residents. City leaders and experts have long seen reengaging these young people — whom they call “Opportunity Youth” — as crucial to addressing poverty, racial inequities, and gun violence.

But the task has bedeviled the city for at least the past decade.

The pandemic triggered a renewed sense of urgency as the number of disconnected youth grew. Reconnection Hubs run by nonprofits in Roseland and Little Village added in-house therapists and street outreach. The school district launched Back to Our Future, which it sees as a first-of-its-kind program to reengage the toughest-to-reach dropouts with help from nonprofits such as Breakthrough.

But overall, Chicago’s programs are often fragmented and lack the big-picture vision and coordination between nonprofits and government agencies that experts say are key to success. Data on young people’s longer-term outcomes is scarce. And programs tend to reel in youth who are still somewhat connected — going to community college or working part-time, for example — not the most difficult to reach.

Now, newly elected Mayor Brandon Johnson, who pledged to double jobs and invest in programs for young people, has become the latest city leader hoping to solve the youth disconnection issue.

The stakes are high: Disconnected teens and young adults suffer a long-term toll on their health, social-emotional development, and relationships. In Chicago, more than 90% of young gun violence victims are not enrolled in school, the University of Chicago Education Lab has found. And according to one often-cited 2012 Columbia University study, each disconnected youth carries on average an almost $940,000 lifetime cost to society in lost tax revenue, higher government spending, and other costs.

“These are the most vulnerable youth in our community,” said Yolanda Fields, Breakthrough’s executive director. “What we’re trying to communicate is, ‘You’re worth it. We’ve come for you.’”

Read the full article about helping disconnected youth by Mila Koumpilova at Chalkbeat.