The odds are stacked. Help changes them.
Leaving prison, aging out of foster care, leaving treatment, leaving the street, leaving an abuser, leaving a trafficker. Each one is a fresh start with the odds against it. These are the real numbers, every one sourced, and the numbers that show what turns them around.
of people released from state prison are arrested again within 10 years1
A person walks out with a bus ticket, a few dollars, and a record that follows them into every job application and rental form. The first year is the hardest, and the first two weeks are the deadliest.
Most people who leave prison are arrested again. The ones who get support are the exception that proves it can change.
- 43%are arrested in their first year out1
- 82%are arrested again within 10 years1
- 40×higher risk of dying from an opioid overdose in the first two weeks after release2
- 43%What helps: lower odds of returning to crime for people who took classes in prison5
young people who aged out of foster care were homeless at least once by 261
Most young adults lean on parents for rent, a car, advice, a couch to land on. Youth who age out of foster care face the same first lease and first job alone, often with a few weeks' notice.
At 18, most kids still have a family to fall back on. Fifteen thousand a year age out of foster care with none.
- 15,379young people aged out of foster care with no permanent family in 20242
- 62%of older youth (14 to 21) left care to a permanent family, against 98% of children 13 and under3
- 1 in 3were homeless at least once by age 261
- 28%What helps: lower odds of homelessness for each extra year of support after 186
of adults who ever had a drug or alcohol problem say they are in recovery or recovered1
Addiction is a chronic illness, and like any chronic illness it comes back. After time sober the body loses its tolerance, so a single relapse can be fatal. That's why the days after treatment need a plan and a person.
Relapse is common. Recovery is more common.
- 40–60%of people treated for addiction relapse, about the same as asthma or high blood pressure2
- 44.6MAmericans 12 and older had a substance use disorder in the past year3
- 11%of them got any treatment; about 9 in 10 got none3
- 72.8%What helps: of adults who ever had a drug or alcohol problem consider themselves in recovery or recovered1
people were homeless in America on a single night in January 20251
Homelessness isn't one bad choice. It's a missed paycheck in a market with too few affordable homes, a medical bill, a breakup, a release date. Getting out takes an ID, a deposit, and a landlord who says yes.
Nearly half of homeless adults had a job. There still aren't enough homes they can afford.
- 745,652people were homeless on one night in January 2025; 36% were sleeping outside1
- 155,750were chronically homeless, the highest number ever counted1
- 35affordable, available homes for every 100 of the lowest-income renter households2
- 4 in 5What helps: people who leave homelessness for a home stay housed for two years3
women and 1 in 6 men have been hurt, sexually assaulted, or stalked by a partner1
People ask why survivors stay. Usually it's money, housing, and fear: the abuser controls the bank account, there's nowhere to go, and leaving can make the danger worse. Most survivors leave more than once before they leave for good.
Leaving can be the most dangerous moment. It's also when help matters most.
- 1 in 3women (34%) and 1 in 6 men (17%) have been sexually assaulted, physically hurt, or stalked by a partner1
- 89%of survivors seeking housing help had faced economic abuse in the past six months2
- 42%were already homeless when they asked for help2
- 92%What helps: of shelter residents said they learned more ways to plan for their safety6
of trafficking survivors with a criminal record say the charges came from being trafficked1
Survivors leave with nothing: no ID, no money, sometimes a record for crimes they were forced to commit, sometimes debts in their name they never took on. Rebuilding means clearing all of it.
Most survivors get themselves out. Then the record their trafficker left them follows them everywhere.
- 90%of survivors with a record say some or all of it came from being trafficked1
- 69%say their record kept them from getting or keeping a job2
- 59%say it kept them from safe housing2
- 48%What helps: of survivors named counseling as one of their most valuable supports1
Every number on this page has a person behind it doing the hard work of starting over. RISEaid walks with them: a mentor who's been there, a plan, and the resources for each step. Your gift, your time, or your company can change someone's odds.
Updated October 2026. Numbered citations link to each program's full source list.