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 them most. As a result, tens of thousands of people are pursuing misaligned employment pathways resulting in low retention rates.

People living in poverty must often navigate unwieldy and inefficient systems to access workforce development services. While these programs are designed to help lift people out of poverty, they are often not located close to populations experiencing poverty.

It’s hard to imagine choosing between groceries or textbooks, enrollment fees, or the gas to get to class. For students experiencing poverty, the lack of resources and support allows seemingly insignificant factors to derail the completion of career and technical education programs.

An estimated 100,000 Memphians experiencing poverty are in need of academic remediation before they can access career & technical education that can unlock living-wage jobs.

There are 10 primary roadblocks that keep people experience poverty from secure living wage employment. Join us as we address them to create equitable employment opportunities for all.

There are over 130 organizations that provide meaningful types of workforce development services in Memphis. That is only one for every 950 people experiencing poverty between the ages of 18 to 55 years old.

Across Tennessee, only 3 in 10 of the industry credentials earned by K-12 students are either being asked for by employers or are for occupations that pay $15 per hour or more. Refined policies could better support people experiencing poverty in pursuing post-secondary and technical education.

These emerging insights help us better understand the experiences of tens of thousands of Memphians living in poverty to cut through false perceptions and deal with the facts to help create opportunities for upward economic mobility.

Slingshot and MDRC specialize in using evidence to find solutions to the most difficult social challenges, including enhancing employment outcomes for those who are experiencing poverty.