Memphis ranks nearly last (41 of 42) among large urban areas for transit use per capita, with only two percent of Memphians taking transit to work.

Working parents in Shelby County struggle to access available and affordable childcare. Alarmingly, the average annual cost for childcare in Shelby County rivals that of state university tuition.

Childhood trauma is unfortunately common in Memphis, and a person with four or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is over twice as likely to earn less than $10,000 per year.

Unfortunately, in Memphis, few resources exist to help people experiencing poverty identify their professional strengths and match those strengths with the living-wage jobs that value these strengths the most.

Memphis does not have a centralized organization that can help job seekers navigate employment pathways across sectors.

Six out of every ten Tennessee community college students experiencing poverty do not continue after the first year. In Shelby County, only 2 in 10 community college students graduate within six years.

An estimated 100,000 Memphians experiencing poverty need academic remediation to access and thrive in postsecondary programs due to insufficient literacy and numeracy skills. The lack of literacy as an adult is absolutely damning to career progression.

Job-seeking Memphians value the role of advocates and coaches who support them. Many training participants and students discussed the importance of an advocate, coach, or mentor in their education and employment journeys.

Self-efficacy is the capacity of people to achieve their long-term goals through resilience and belief in their ability to succeed. Various workforce development organizations have opportunities to help aspiring workforce participants build greater self-efficacy.