Wake up America! Wake up from complacency. Open your eyes and see that our youth is a GENERATION AT RISK!

The Statistics

These are the most recent statistics on todays youth in America. This is what teens in and out of youth groups are encountering every 2 hours. WAKE UP AMERICA! Wake up from complacency. Open your eyes and see we are at WAR. These are the casualties.

In just 2 hours...

• 97 teenage girls will be raped.

• 960 inflict self injury.

• 3970 High School Seniors will drink alcohol.

• 160 will dropout of school.

• 178 will be abused or neglected.

• 120 will run away from home.

• 480 will get high on prescription drugs.

• During one episode of American Idol, 120 babies will be born to teenage mothers.

• 720 will catch an STD.

• During an average daily commute home, 1 teen will loose their life by a shooting.

Lack of Interest

One of the biggest reasons a teen will drop out of high school is because they simply lack interest in gaining an education. Out of 10,000 public high school drop outs, 7,000 of them confessed to their lack in interest to complete high school. Most often this is due to the generic course curriculums offered to public high school students, whereby a number of students simply become bored.

Students drop out for complex reasons. On the surface, students seem to drop out because of poor grades or the need to work. In reality, students often leave because they haven’t connected at home, school or in the community to someone who can set higher standards and help them to achieve them..

In 2 hours video

Meet KLD kids video

KLD's Kids

KLD is always striving to change the lives of todays challenged youths by educating and empowering young people, one life at a time. Meet some of our kids, hear their stories and see how KLD has helped change their lives.

Joey

Joey will tell you that he has faced the trouble of drugs. With that disclosure comes a higher potential for him to be a winner against the dangers and limitations of a drug filled life, one which also leads to a string of bad choices. For Joey, life has already taken a turn for the better by successfully finishing another year at school. Now, filled with purpose and potential, Joey won’t be a statistic for drugs… but a statistic for success.

Sandra

Sandra started life facing more health issues than most of us will face in a lifetime. She became a very young recipient of a liver transplant and ensuing health issues continue to keep her at great risk. Though she continues to fight for her life this smart dedicated young women strives to stay the course and dreams of attending BCC and going on to a four year college.

Cody

One of the primary causes of homelessness among youth are family conflict or severe economic hardship. For Cody, it started when he was forced to move over 18 times in a short period. Needless to say, his attitude began to change and he started to lose hope for the future. By the time he was in 7th grade, he had skipped more than 52 days in one school year, failing every subject.

He found his way to the KLD Youth Foundation and things started to change for Cody. He currently is staying with a friend and has let himself begin to hope. This very intelligent young man now believes his life has possibilities and he is hoping to attend college.

When asked what the best thing that has happened to him since coming to KLD, Cody said, "They gave me a family".

Christopher

The story of Christopher started with little promise. Within the first four months of entering kindergarten, Christopher was suspended 37 times. His mother will say that this was just one part of the story. Christopher has Aspergers Syndrome and like so many other children with Aspergers (AS) he wasn’t correctly diagnosed until the age of 12 causing behavior problems that brought punishment instead of assistance. And with it came no normalcy of childhood, no birthday party invitations, no spend-the-nights, no social interaction at all. The loneliness of having a child on the autism spectrum is enormous.

Contrary to the incorrect assumptions some may make about people with the disorder, AS is not caused by emotional deprivation or the way a person has been brought up. Because some of the behaviors exhibited by someone with AS may be seen as intentionally rude, many people wrongly assume that AS is the result of bad parenting — it isn't. It's a neurobiological disorder whose causes are not yet fully understood.

Currently, there is no cure for the disorder — kids with AS become adults with AS. Like others Christopher can lead a full and happy life. The possibilities of a bright future are enhanced with the appropriate education, support, and resources given to Christopher and his family, such as those found within KLD.