Key Issues

Need

America’s young people are dying. They are dying quickly from guns and gangs and slowly from poverty and isolation. There are no services for young people who don’t show up for programs, schools or jobs. These are the young people and young parents in gangs, in and out of state systems, using drugs and alcohol, poor, hungry, often homeless and/or suffering from the trauma of war. Reports show that nationally 10–15% of all young people ages 14-24 are disconnected from work and/or education.

What Makes Roca Different

Roca’s work makes significant changes in the lives of young people and communities. It is extremely cost-effective, investing an average of $5,000 for a transformational relationship per young person per year over 3-4 years (average of $7,000 - $12,600 per person for transitional employment per slot per year from which young people pay taxes), as compared with the alternative costs to the community, estimated by the Journal of Criminology to be between $250,000 and $2,000,000 in social and incarceration support over his/her lifetime.