A new report from The Data Center shows youth in New Orleans under tremendous stress.
The Data Center’s Youth Index report looked at factors that influence quality of life, like poverty rates and education.
It wasn’t good.
It reports a poverty rate just shy of 40 percent for children under 18.
Data Center consultant Andre Perry:
“When more than a third of your young folk are living in poverty, you know, you can’t find joy in that. It’s tough. It’s very tough.”
The report also finds major financial problems for children in poverty getting a college education. For families earning up to $30,000 a year, the cost of attending LSU was at least 17 percent of their income level. But for families earning $110,000 or more, the net price was 15 percent or less of their income.
“This report really just sheds light on all the multi-sector work we have to do in order to allow kids to live self-fulfilling lives," he said.
Perry says finding affordable housing remains a major problem. The study says that in New Orleans, 54 percent of households are renters -- and one-third pay more than half of their pre-tax household income on rent.
