Young people should be the storytellers of their own lives.

Opportunity Youth and Young Adults (OYYA) are 16-24 year olds who are not involved in educational and career opportunities. Their challenges include financial burdens, poverty, family issues, limited support and guidance, disengagement from school and lack of mental health support. In addition, the OYYA demographics reflect the current systematic disadvantages of communities of color. Data has shown that the pandemic is disproportionately impacting black and brown neighborhoods, and youth disconnection rates have spiked significantly.

Hardships that OYYA individuals face have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from Houston Independent School District (HISD) demonstrates this. In 2019, 59.53% of HISD graduates did not go on to attend college. In 2020, this number jumped to 69.07% of HISD graduates from that year. This shows that the already concerning number of disconnected youth and young adults has grown as a result of the pandemic. This reality, compounded with the fact that disconnected youth are more likely to live in poverty, have a disability, or have children demonstrates that there are many levels of barriers that can hinder an OYYA individual from fulfilling their goals and aspirations.

The OYYA population has an abundance of strengths that when cultivated, can lead to long-lasting success. They are resilient, motivated, and optimistic. Helping Opportunity Youth actualize their goals not only leads them to fulfillment, but also benefits the employers who hire them. Innovative companies who are leaders in building talent pipelines for Opportunity Youth “have observed improvements across the employee lifecycle including in recruiting efficiency, onboarding and training; employee retention; diversity; subsidized labor costs; and goodwill and community benefits.” ¹ 

With adequate support, these young adults can break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and prosper, leading to stronger communities.

When our youth do well, we all do well.

ACAM is a leader of the Greater Opportunity Youth Collaborative (GHOYC), a multi-stakeholder initiative that works across sectors, industries, and systems to create positive outcomes for young adults ages 16-24 disconnected from education and career pathways.

The GHOYC has four main goals:

1. Increase efficiency and effectiveness existing resources and programming targeted towards the OYYA population.

2. Encourage an attitude shift in power systems by relearning how to co-dream, co-build, and co-facilitate alongside youth and young adults.

3. Increase the number of young people meaningfully connected/reconnected to communities, education, and employment.

4. Decrease disparities between youth with different characteristics and from different communities; equal opportunity for all.

ACAM also leads a service collaboration funded by Gulf Coast Workforce Solutions called NextGen. In 2021, this funding placed over $5 million into local organizations supporting the OYYA population. ACAM oversees five direct-service providers in the Houston area: Capital IDEA Houston, Career and Recovery Resources, Humble Area Assistance Ministries, Wesley Community Center, and WorkTexas. We help each organization utilize their funding to help reconnect as many young people as possible.