Expanding opportunities for young people in New Orleans: evolution and impact

In December 2010, the White House Council for Community Solutions identified 6.7 million young people across the country who were out of school and out of work — a population they called Opportunity Youth. The national spotlight prompted local organizations in New Orleans to look at their own data.

What they found made the need clear. Significant numbers of young people across the city were disconnected from school, work, and opportunity, and the gaps fell disproportionately on Black youth.

Those numbers set something in motion. What followed was years of coordinated efforts — funders, organizations, and city leadership aligning around a shared goal — that over time grew into something more: an integrated system of data, programs, policy, and youth voice working together to change outcomes for young people in New Orleans. This is that story.