| How is Connecticut doing in appealing to young adults? Sadly, not very well. Housing costs are high, the jobs do not pay well enough and in some parts of the state, the jobs simply are not there. When a young adult has a choice when they finish college, many leave Connecticut.
Connecticut has the highest number of adults 25-34 leaving the state compared to any other state since 2000. You need to earn $21.11 an hour or $44,000 a year to afford a 2 bedroom apartment, while 72% of the jobs created between now and 2014 are projected to pay less than $40,000 a year. And that's if young adults even stay that long, because 47% leave the state for college!
Why do we need young adults? Communities rely on adults for labor intensive, life saving jobs, such as police officers, firemen, and health care professionals. That's only a most critical example, as young adults are needed to keep the economy going in all areas so that businesses and organizations can succeed.
What needs to be done? We have to take action. We have to come up with ways to unite the state on the issue as well as find ways for local communities to address the issue directly. Grassroots organization can have a significant impact in driving the businesses, developers, and political leaders to take initiative of developing communities that better cater to the needs of the state. At the end of the day, it's up to us.
On Tuesday, July 15th from 6-8 pm at the Miller Memorial Center Library Senior Center (ironically) in Hamden, the Greater New Haven Young Democrats will be hosting a panel discussion to address this issue. Details can be found on the event page. There will be more discussions throughout the state with details to come in the near future.
We have an opportunity to change this course to make Connecticut's future better. It is imperative that we as an activist community unite to take initiative to create a better home for our future.
Sources: The Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, Central Connecticut State University, Partnership for Stronger Communities "HOME Connecticut" campaign |
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