In North Texas, there is an overwhelming shortage of services for at-risk, low-income teen-aged youth that guide and prepare them for success as adults. As these young people reach teenage years, the risk factors in their lives skyrocket while the resources available to them diminish. They often face enormous hurdles such as hunger, incarceration, suicide, pregnancy, and gang affiliation. At each stage of their educational lives, they fall behind their peers. They participate in early learning at significantly lower rates than their more affluent peers, enter school less ready, lack reliable support systems, and are more likely to drop out. For the students who do graduate high school, they are less likely to go to college, and far less likely to graduate. This hurts young people, their families, and their communities.