BATON ROUGE – Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation graciously awarded $35,000 to the Futures Fund program to expand its offering to include Baton Rouge Out-of-School Youth.
With this, The Walls Project will expand its workforce training offering to include vulnerable, Out-of-School Youth (OSY) participants—individuals 16-24 years old age, who have not completed high school, or have completed high school and are in need of additional training to enter the job market.
During the formative years of 16-24 years old, 40% of young people are disconnected from school and work. OSY are more likely to live in poverty than their peers, more likely to work in jobs with low-wages and no benefits, and are twice as likely as their peers to not pursue education beyond a high school diploma. By age 28, just 1% of OSY earn an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree (compared to 36% of their peers). Routinely, OSY experience a lack of access to the opportunities and resources they need to be successful in life and career. The Walls Project will expand its workforce training to include vulnerable, OSY participants.