Youth hit hard by lack of jobs, school grants - ending up homeless, with relatives or couch surfing

Youth hit hard by lack of jobs, school grants

Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Jordan Atkinson had all the trappings of a typical Marin County childhood. He lived in a big house in Novato, played Pop Warner football, spent weekends with friends listening to hip-hop.

Now, three years out of San Marin High School, Atkinson is homeless, a casualty of the recession.

"I was spoiled. I had a lot of things easy," Atkinson said recently while drinking a smoothie at a Novato cafe, taking a break from job applications and college forms. "Now, unless someone physically attacks me, it doesn't feel like things could get much worse."

Young people like Atkinson are among the hardest hit by the state's soaring unemployment rate. More than 18 percent of workers 16 to 24 are unemployed, a 70 percent jump from a year ago and the highest of any other group, according to the state employment office.

"What happens is, these kids can't find jobs, so they can't afford to go to school, and a lot of them end up homeless, staying with relatives or couch-surfing," said Racy Ming, manager of the Marin Employment Connection, a county employment office. "With Cal Grants drying up, what are these kids supposed to do? It's shocking."

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/12/BU0518L63B.DTL

People under 25, maybe even under 30, are living in an age of diminished expectations. We see or recall the way we lived with our parents, and don't see a way we can ultimately provide that standard of living for ourselves or our future children in the current economic climate. When people say we're going to be the first generation in American history to have a lower standard of living than our parents, I believe them.

It's something I'm willing to accept, grudgingly, if we can make an even better world for our children. But, that's going to be up to us. Hopefully this era will breed resolution and not cynicism.

Very similar to today's economy and we're the parents that gave you the standard of living that you don't think you can maintain.

We were going to be the first generation of Americans to have a lower standard of living too.

That's a personal note, from me to you, not a political statement. Hang in there!

and that is, for me, that my dad is a bit older than most people my age and that by that time he was a pretty well-established guy with a small business etc. My mom, who didn't graduate college, got a cool job in that era wherein she oversaw an office with dozens of people working there. Today I don't think that would be possible without a degree, and that requires most of us to go deep into debt. So in some ways, things are worse, IMHO. Of course you may be right. I was watching a documentary about The Ramones, and the images of NYC they showed from the late 1970's were really depressing.

They'll devour every last dime and keep your generation permanently enslaved to debt, if they're allowed.

even the fast food places are slammed with applications. :(

I've been wondering how you're doing, what with construction completely drying up. It sucks over here too.

:( not in construction anyway.

As luck would have it, Gram needed extra care at the same time we could no longer afford rent. We moved into her big empty house (with my Dad too, he was laid off 2 years ago). We're getting by fairly well by pooling resources and skills. :)
Family is a blessing!

Hope you are well too! :hug:

edit for lousy punctuation

at actions the mimic Iran if they don't produce real change. The people who were blogging and twittering and following Iranians were the youth. Youth inspired by youth.

This is EXACTLY what the powers that be want.

Plenty of twenty year old to feed into their endless disgusting genocidal wars. :puke:

I was 21 and going no where, had been fired from yet another job and just cared about partying. Was broke and moved in with my mom, then just decided to join the military.

I did 6 years active duty, learned a trade I still work in today and got to go to college for free plus received money from my GI Bill.

It really straightened me out and I needed it, turned out well :) Plus I got a ton of dental work done over that time for $0, including the removal of my wisdom teeth, don't even want to know what that would cost.

The Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard are pretty safe, never was a Marine or Army type myself.

most vets on average earn less over the course of their lives than civilians, and are more likely to end up homeless. But I'm glad it worked out well for you.

Ask Cindy Sheehan about how she feels.

p.s. My husband did 9 years in the military and couldn't get a job that paid shit when he got out in spite of all the military's promises that he would make big bucks out in the real world.

Sounds like you were lucky.

I was in from 1999 to 2005. When I left active duty in 2005 I was taking home $3204 a month net as an E5 with base pay, BAH, and Seprats. I make 48k a year now and still don't make that after taxes and such.

Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of people who didn't take advantage of the educational benefits, didn't get additional certifications or skills in their fields, and just put in their time and thought it was a magic bean to untold riches. I know more than a few who came back to the military when they realized how tough it was out in the real world and how good they had it on active duty.

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