news & updates
the premiere was a success!
docudiary
read about the making of the film
spread the word!
tell everyone you know about the film
LifeTies, Inc
find out more about the nj-based nonprofit
the premiere was a success!
docudiary
read about the making of the film
spread the word!
tell everyone you know about the film
LifeTies, Inc
find out more about the nj-based nonprofit
the facts and statistics below help illustrate what devastating issues our youth are facing. programs like LifeTies are desperately needed to assist these children in crisis.
homelessness & poverty
-approximately 20% of homeless children do not attend school regularly.
-homeless children are 3 times more likely than other children to have emotional or behavioral problems.
-over the course of a year, more than 3,000 men, women, and children in Mercer County receive services in the homeless system.
gangs
-there are 4 primary reasons for someone to join a gang: poverty, peer pressure, boredom and despair.
-children as young as 7 years old are often recruited to gangs because gangs are aware of the difference in the punishment for youths in the criminal justice system.
substance abuse
-Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders affect 1 in 100 live births or as many as 40,000 infants each year.
-children do not outgrow Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. the physical and behavioral problems can last a lifetime.
- in 2006, youths aged 12-17 who used an illicit drug in the past year were almost twice as likely to have engaged in a violent behavior as those who did not.
HIV/AIDS
-an estimated 1,411 children aged under 13 were living with AIDS at the end of 2005. the vast majority of these children acquired HIV from their mothers during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding.
-NJ ranked 5th among the US 50 states in the number of African Americans living with AIDS in 2001.
-HIV infection ranks seventh among the leading causes of death for US children 1 to 14 years of age. in many cities in the northeastern US, HIV is the leading cause of death among children ages 2 to 5.
Foster Care
-beginning between 8 and 9 years old the probability of children continuing to wait to be adopted exceeds the probability that they will be adopted.
-the average child spends 27 months in Foster Care.
-as of December 31, 2005, a total of 3457 NJ children were in Foster placement 3 years or more. this is 30% of the placed population of children who are not reaching permanency in a timely manner.
Homeless children are 3x more likely than other children to have emotional or behavioral problems.Children as young as 7 years old are often recruited to gangs.
Approximately 30% of woman infected with HIV/AIDS are not tested prior to giving birth.
Children who age out of Foster Care are far more likely to end up homeless, in prison or addicted to drugs.
