Across Columbus and Franklin County, too many young people are navigating crises that remain largely invisible to the broader community. Youth homelessness, mental health struggles, service gaps, and systemic inequities are shaping life outcomes for a generation — especially for youth of color and LGBTQIA+ young people. While these challenges are complex, they are not inevitable.

Join us as we unpack the findings of the forthcoming State of Youth Report, a new local analysis designed to bring sharper focus to the realities young Central Ohioans are facing and the systems meant to support them. Grounded in data, case studies, and community insight, the new report is a product of a research partnership between the Youth Providers Coalition and Illuminology, with social return on investment and impact measurement analysis led by the Voinovich School at Ohio University and Georgia Southern University.

With key local leaders, we’ll explore what the data reveals, where the most urgent gaps exist, and what it would take to make earlier, smarter, and more coordinated investments in Central Ohio’s youth.

Featuring Dominic King, Community Advocate; Dr. Amanda Scott, Principal, Illuminology; Ben Sears, Vice President of Community Development and Housing, Star House; Jennifer Sharma, CEO, Huckleberry House, with moderator Kara B. Wente, Director, The Ohio Department of Children and Youth.

If you would like to dive more deeply into this topic, our friends at the Columbus Metropolitan Library suggest checking out Abandoned: America’s Lost Youth and the Crisis of Disconnection, by Anne Kim, 2020.

Learn more: https://columbusmetroclub.org/event/hidden-in-plain-sight-the-state-of-at-risk-youth-in-central-ohio/