Why the Bay Area Needs Big Brothers Big Sisters
Drop Outs Cost Bay Area $270M in lost wages
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Over 30,000 Bay Area kids will drop out and not finish High School this year. These kids will earn at least $9,000 year LESS than their peers who do finish. That $9,000 a year equals $270,000,000 in lost wages for the Bay Area, every year.
"Littles" in our programs are 52% less likely to skip class. They stay more engaged in class, do better in school, and ultimately graduate. 85% of the teachers in our school-based program report that our Little's in their classrooms have reduced unexcused absenses. |
Teens Drinking & Driving Cost $83M
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2% of all Bay Area traffic injuries last year involved teens who were drinking and driving. In addition to the pain and suffering, these traffic injuries cost, on average, $533,000 for a non-fatal accident and $2.6 million for a fatal accident. It is estimated that there will be 32 fatal injury accidents involving teens who were drinking and driving this year, at a total cost of $83 million.
"Littles" are 27% less likely to use alcohol. As a result, they are also less likely to engage in a whole variety of behaviors linked to alcohol use and abuse, including drinking and driving. |
36,000 Bay Area Teens in Drug Rehab
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36,000 Bay Area Teens will spend a week in drug rehab this year at a cost of $3,870 per week, for a total of $138 million.
"Littles" are 46% less likely to use drugs in the first place. |
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The Bay Area has more than 40,000 single-parent households with children at home between the ages of 6 and 18, where the parent is earning less than the Federal Poverty line. That's less than $21,000 a year for a family of four. Most of these families live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, where at least 40% of the residents are earning less than the federal poverty line. These neighborhoods have no leadership class.
"Littles" have someone to look up to from outside of the neighborhood. It's not just their lives that are affected - "Littles" get along better with their families, too. |
Incarcerating Kids Costs $216,000 / Year Per Child
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The 2008 California State Budget calls for $540,000,000, at $216,000 per child, per year, to incarcerate a child in the California Youth Authority. . 85% of the kids in the California Youth Authority have drug and alcohol problems. They routlinely use violence as a means to an end.
It costs just $2,500 to give a kid a Big Brother for the same year and help prevent them from getting in trouble in the first place. "Littles" are less likely to use violence to solve problems, less likely to join a gang, 46% less likely to use drugs and 27% less likely to use alcohol. |
California will spend 1/2 $Billion to incarcerate kids this year
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The 2008 California State Budget calls for $540,000,000, at $216,000 per child, per year, to incarcerate a child in the California Youth Authority. . 85% of the kids in the California Youth Authority have drug and alcohol problems. They routlinely use violence as a means to an end.
It costs just $2,500 to give a kid a Big Brother for the same year and help prevent them from getting in trouble in the first place. "Littles" are less likely to use violence to solve problems, less likely to join a gang, 46% less likely to use drugs and 27% less likely to use alcohol. |
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Over 200 famlies a month call and register their child for a Big Brother or Big Sister with us. There are 200,000 children in the Bay Area, aged 6 - 18 living at home with a single parent.
BBBSBA increased its community-based matches 304% through the first half of calendar 2007 over the same period in 2006. This was #1 in the Western Region and #2 nationally. BBBSBA increased the overall number of children served by 64% year over year, again, #1 in the Western Region. Average match length was over 30 months, again, #1 in the Western Region. |
51,000 Bay Area Teens will use drugs this year
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51,000 kids in the Bay Area aged 12-17 will use drugs this year. Societal cost of drug use is estimated to be approximately $12,000 per year per user. This adds up to a $622 million problem for the Bay Area.
"Littles" are 46% less likely to use drugs.
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Many of our "Littles" become the first member of their family to graduate from High School, others are the first to graduate from College. The problem isn't being poor, it's living in poverty. Most of our kids are living in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, with no leadership class, and no one to look up to outside of the gang bangers and drug dealers in the neighborhood.
"Littles" have a positive adult role model to help mentor them, and encourages them to do better in school. Four years of School-based Mentoring Program evaluations showed that 84% of teachers reported improved grades for mentored youth in at least one subject. 41% of teachers reported improved grade improvement in 3 or more subjects. |