A lack of music programs
[col type=”4″ class=””]While more restaurants and businesses are moving to Philadelphia, much of the city’s youth continue to be denied access to the basic resources for success. With the Philadelphia School District being forced to borrow millions of dollars to pay their bills due to the impasse of Pennsylvania’s state government’s budget vote, school music programs are difficult to find.[/col][col type=”4″ class=””]
[/col][col type=”4″ class=””]Furthermore, despite the fact that there are over 340,000 youth in Philadelphia, our city has less than 8 music programs, which can only serve a very small populace. These tragic circumstances have led to a significant number of youth falling into the criminal justice system.[/col]
Youth in the System
Each year there are over 8,000 youth in the juvenile system in Philadelphia alone. This number will likely continue to grow. The recidivism rate within our country is higher than any other with over 73 percent of inmates under 25 reentering the system within three years (Youth Study Center Data 2014). These youth often come from and return to settings where they must face the hardships of poverty and violence on a daily basis. Prisons have also been shown to enhance this trauma within adolescents by exposing them to violence and isolation (Travis 2003). As a result of these harsh situations recidivism rates are especially high within the first six to twelve months of being released from prison (Gendrau & Goggin 1999). Without proper outlets or training, youth who enter the prison system are often set up on a course where they will continue to return.
