Ideas

Right now, young people are dealing with challenges unlike any generation before. Rising living costs, climate change, learning gaps from the pandemic, and unstable housing are hitting hard — often at the same time. These forces aren’t just shaping the opportunities available to youth, they’re reshaping entire communities.

The stakes are high. Youth disconnection from school and work alone costs taxpayers an estimated $55 billion each year in lost earnings and extra spending on social services. Climate-related disasters are also happening more often and causing more damage — especially in communities that already face significant economic and social challenges.

The good news? Communities, funders, and youth-serving organizations have a critical chance, right now, to take action. By building real opportunities for youth leadership, creating pathways to good jobs, and making climate justice part of every conversation, we can make lasting changes. These steps will help young people — and make our communities stronger and more resilient.

Here are four ways to start, or keep the work moving forward, to make a real difference.

1. Build Sustainable Pathways for Real Youth Leadership

Youth participation is common, but formal, long-term leadership structures are often missing. Without them, youth voice risks becoming tokenized or fading when projects end.

What you can do:

• Create leadership roles that matter — youth councils, advisory boards, or shared decision-making groups.
• Offer training in advocacy, using data to support a case, and telling your story in ways youth are comfortable with.
• Provide support — such as transportation help, stipends, or mentorship — so youth leaders can succeed without burning out. And build space for youth to make connections with one another and other caring adults.

When young people lead, they bring fresh ideas and lived experience that make solutions stronger.

2. Focus on Economic Mobility

Getting ahead financially starts early, and it’s about more than just earning a paycheck. Early wealth-building and access to stable, good-paying jobs can shape life trajectories for decades. More and more, communities and organizations are exploring strategies like baby bonds, direct cash transfers, and paid apprenticeships to help young people build strong economic futures.

What you can do:

• Integrate financial literacy skills into youth programs, such as life savings, budgeting, and planning for the future.
• Partner with youth and employers to define what makes a job “good” — and recognize that this can look different depending on the region, industry, and local cost of living — then connect youth to those opportunities.
• Support paid learning programs — like apprenticeships, internships, or dual-credit classes — that let young people earn money while gaining skills.

Financial stability opens the door for education, health, and community involvement.

3. Make Climate Justice Part of the Work

Climate-related disasters are affecting us more and more. Heat waves, flooding, poor air quality, and other extreme events shape where we live, our health, and even how well we can focus in school or at work. The impacts aren’t equal — low-income and historically marginalized communities often face the biggest risks. For young people in these communities, dealing with climate-related disasters is closely tied to other major issues like health, education, and economic stability.

What you can do:

• Draw a clear line between climate-related disasters and youth’s daily lives. Talk with young people about their own experiences — for example, being displaced from school and losing access to support services after flooding or wildfires — and use what you learn to shape programs and community priorities.
• Support youth-led projects that tackle local climate challenges, from disaster preparedness efforts to community cleanups and green space restoration.
• Embed climate resilience in youth programs so it becomes a natural part of building health, education, and economic stability for the future.

As one speaker at a recent event said: “If your work includes people, your work should also include climate justice.”

4. Strengthen Connections for Disconnected Youth

Disconnection from school and work is almost never a choice — it’s often the result of systemic exclusion Having strong, supportive relationships can be a powerful protective factor.

What you can do:

• Prioritize consistent outreach to young people, using multiple ways to connect — and resource partners so they can keep showing up, even when youth don’t respond right away.
• Strengthen networks of caring adults by supporting programs that link school, work, and mental health services in ways youth can easily access.
• Expand flexible education and job options that meet youth where they are, especially those balancing caregiving responsibilities or facing unstable housing.

Reconnecting youth isn’t just about jobs or school — it’s about trust, stability, and belonging.

Bottom Line

We can’t afford to treat youth issues as something to address “when there’s time.” The convergence of economic, environmental, educational, and housing crises means the window to act is now. By investing in leadership, economic mobility, climate justice, and social capital, we not only create better futures for young people — we strengthen the resilience of our entire communities.