The value of education

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of receiving a good education.  For many, a college education forms the foundation of their future careers.  For others, it’s where they made the connections that got them their dream job.  Still for others it’s where they made the best friend they’ll ever have or where they met their significant other.  For everyone, it is a process that opens up possibilities.  If you have received a college education, take a moment to think about what your life would have been like had you dropped out of college early or never even began.  Now imagine that you never even graduated from high school.

Youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems can have an extremely difficult time finishing high school, much less moving on to college.  And it has long been understood that there is a correlation between education and crime.  This means that education can be critical in helping these youth move onward and upward.  Studies have shown that as an individual’s level of education increases, their likelihood of being incarcerated decreases.  One study demonstrated that if you increased the level of education of every person in the state of New Mexico, incarceration rates would drop by sixty percent.  At the same time, receiving a higher level education is becoming more expensive each year and school loans can be an extremely difficult burden to overcome.  None of this changes the fact that receiving a good education is just as important now as it ever has been.

City Youth Now helps youth in crisis get their lives on track and to get educated, so that they too can be exposed to the possibilities that an education can offer.  Our educational support spans a wide range of help including GED tutoring, regular tutoring in all subjects, college tours to expose youth to what is available to them beyond their secondary education, financial assistance in purchasing textbooks, assistance with college registration, and scholarships.  For youth in detention or in the foster care system, programs like ours are often the only place these kids have to turn.

Youth in the foster care system often face the additional challenge of having to switch schools each time their foster care placement changes.  Every time one of these children is forced to switch to another school, they can fall as much as six months behind the rest of their classmates.  This is a tremendous burden to overcome, especially for a child who is struggling to adapt to a new home situation.  The services we provide are essential in ensuring that they do not fall behind the rest of their classmates, leaving them at risk of dropping out and never even finishing high school, much less trying to move on to college.

If you have benefitted from an education, whether high school, trade school, college, or beyond, consider giving back so that someone else can receive the same kinds of benefits that you did.  CIty Youth Now relies heavily upon volunteers and donations.  To find out more information about volunteering as a tutor or in some other capacity, click here: http://www.cityyouthnow.org/get-involved/volunteer-today.  To make a quick and easy monetary donation in any amount, click here: http://www.cityyouthnow.org/get-involved/donate-now.  Know that your help is a critical part of our organization bridging the gap for San Francisco youth in crisis.  Your assistance will make a real difference in the lives of the children who will benefit from it.

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