The majority of Mentoring Today’s youth are from Wards 7 or 8 of Washington, DC. These communities are plagued by low education rates, high unemployment rates, and staggering poverty levels. Our youth are at extremely high risk for returning to juvenile incarceration, entering the adult criminal justice system, being undereducated and underemployed, and being physically harmed by street violence. Without intensive intervention, these youth will likely continue to re-offend into adulthood.
- Of all of the young people incarcerated at New Beginnings Youth Development Center, 100% are male, 97% of whom are Black, 3% Latino, and 0% White.
- The average family income in Ward 8 is $44,076, the lowest in the city and nearly a third of the city average, which is $115,016. More than one in three (35%) of Ward 8 residents live in poverty.
- DC has the highest child poverty rate in the United States. About 48% of all Ward 8 children and 40% of all Ward 7 children live below the federal poverty threshold.
- The unemployment rate in Ward 8 was 25.2% in January 2011, the highest rate in the nation.
Some say our youth are beyond hope, but we at Mentoring Today see their resiliency, determination, and potential, and have learned that they can achieve great things if given the proper supports.
