Why Youth Development Funds Are Key To Transforming Urban Communities

 Youth development funds are the most reliable way to transform urban communities to reach economic sustainability. Here's why.

Urban communities throughout the US suffer from economic problems with no apparent solutions. Low income in urban communities keeps businesses from entering these regions, keeping job opportunities low and ending the vicious circle of economic distress.

Economists now believe that inner cities have several unique competitive advantages that should incentivize businesses to set up shops in these regions. For example, there's a demand for supermarkets in many inner cities in the US. New businesses in urban communities can meet these demands while also creating jobs.

To understand how to bring about such change, we got in touch with a Youth With a Future representative. Youth With a Future is a non-profit organization that wants to bring transformational change in urban communities through leadership training and social work. Here are three major reasons youth development funds are key to transforming urban communities.

Urban Communities Need Transformational Leaders

Low-income urban communities need transformational change to get out of the poverty trap and reach economic sustainability. Once there's enough economic activity, people will save and invest, fueling further economic growth. Economic activity also influences people to be more productive.

Urban communities need leaders with passion, vision, and the ability to inspire others to do better. These communities also need leaders with moral values inspiring them to improve the economic state of their communities. This is why Youth With a Future teaches young people leadership skills as well as moral values to ensure they're motivated to improve their communities once they succeed in life.

Private Institutions Don't Teach Socioemotional Skills Or Values

Private institutions mostly train young people in cognitive skills such as mathematics, problem-solving, and logical reasoning. These skills have proved immensely useful for life success in the last century, especially since many high-paying careers require cognitive abilities. However, psychologists have recognized a shift in the paradigm.

Experts now think that socioemotional skills such as relationship management and emotional regulation are as just as important for success in life. Future job markets will actively look for people with good socioemotional skills with less precedence to academic ability. This can give young people in urban communities a better chance to compete in future job markets.

Urban youth also needs to be taught moral values more than others. Low-income communities have higher crime rates which negatively impacts the capacity for economic growth. Growing up in high-crime neighborhoods also increases the likelihood of a young person turning to crime, which is yet another vicious cycle that keeps low-income communities from reaching sustainability.

Still, few institutions even recognize the importance of socio-emotional abilities and moral values today. Youth With a Future recognizes the value of teaching socioemotional skills. The organization uses urban youth grants to finance workshops that teach social and leadership skills.

Low-Income Communities Need Funding to Achieve Their Capacity For Leadership

Poverty traps are, by definition, difficult for communities to get out of without intervention. Low income means young people are deprived of quality education, so they fail to get jobs as adults, and their children go through the same cycle. A certain threshold of income is needed to escape poverty, reach sustainability, and tap into the mechanisms of economic growth.

If we can intervene at any step in the circle of poverty, we can help communities escape the trap. Only governments and non-profit organizations have the right incentives to help people get out of the poverty trap. Youth With a Future, for instance, hosts workshops to increase urban youth's capacity to achieve leadership success, which can help them secure positions in the future and create jobs for others in the community.

How Youth With a Future is Empowering Urban Youth

Youth With a Future is a daughter organization of the Transformational Leadership Forum that hosts workshops in churches, civic organizations, and Christian youth groups to teach young people essential leadership skills and moral values. The organization needs grants for youth programs to provide youth with opportunities to participate in its workshops. Visit Youth With a Future's donations page to contribute to their youth development fund.

About The Author

Lynda Armstrong is an economist who studies low-income communities suffering from poverty and writes about ways organizations can intervene. She's an advocate of non-profit organizations and believes NGOs can help achieve social goals that free market capitalism can't. This article summarizes her thoughts on how leadership training for young people can help transform communities to reach economic sustainability.