DETROIT (AP) — Like the rundown houses and shuttered storefronts in his Detroit neighborhood, bleakness abounds in LeRoy Taylor’s future.

He is among tens of thousands reaching adulthood in a city where the American Dream appears just outside their reach. Taylor, 20, spends empty hours on basketball courts, zoned out in front of a television or aimlessly pedaling through streets he desperately wants to leave, but doesn’t have the work skills, education or money to do so.

“I fill out applications. No one will call me back,’’ said Taylor, stopping his bike long enough to hustle change for cigarettes near a west side bus stop. “It’s useless. It’s real scary.’’

Too few jobs are only part of the problems facing youths in this troubled city. Its public high schools are considered among the worst in the U.S. Planned budget cuts to the recreation department will reduce hours and slash into staffing.

Then there’s crime.

A 15-year-old and his mother were charged Wednesday with murder after a 19-year-old bystander was shot to death at a recreation center. The county prosecutor said the 35-year-old woman allowed her son access to a handgun and drove him away after the shooting.

Five other 15-year-olds were among six teens arrested earlier this month for as many as 10 armed robberies and carjackings. And in late June, seven teens were wounded during a bus stop shooting after summer school.

“The first thing that anybody who’s young in this city has to face without a steady job is the threat of illegal, dangerous and life-threatening activities,’’ said the Rev. Horace Sheffield III, a longtime community activist.