A prevailing local sentiment amongst area youth, is that coming of age in Sacramento, signifies coming of age in mundane suburbia. In fact, the critically acclaimed and recently released film Lady Bird explores this exact occurrence, as the protagonist as well as the real-life director, Greta Gerwig, describes running away to New York City, in hopes of leading a more exciting and fulfilling life.[1] It mirrors the attitudes and actions of my own close friends and only sibling, who I think overlooked the richness in opportunity of this city and of its people. There is a thriving community of young intellectuals, activists, and innovators, here in this city, and I have had the pleasure of immersing into this world and working with many of them through such bodies as the Sacramento County Youth Commission, and more recently the Sacramento Youth Alliance (SYA). Indeed, a variety of communities have influenced me personally, culturally, and professionally, because like anyone else, I consist of intersecting identities. Yet, it is SYA that has given me the strongest sense of belonging I have ever known. It has motivated me to work alongside youth that are as passionate about moving their hometown forward, as I am. Ultimately, it is important for me to continue engaging and growing with this community, because progressing our youth, progresses our entire community.

The reason youth activists exist and fight for youth development programs and funding here in Sacramento, is because funding is completely and utterly disproportionate. It is estimated that 1.5 million people reside in the Sacramento area, with youth under the age of eighteen constituting a quarter of this population.[2] Considering these numbers, it would seem sensical for a considerable portion of city (and county) funds to be directed towards the development of these residents. Yet, only a little over 1% of city funds are directed towards youth development programs.[3] This prompted campaigns led by youth, such as Measure Y, which failed on the 2016 ballot. In fact, SYA was founded in the midst of the Measure Y campaign, and I joined shortly after the campaign had ended. With knowledge of the huge loss, I expected the first meeting to be somber and subdued. Instead, I encountered individuals of impeccable character, more passionate than ever, set on righting this wrong once and for all. This energy was incredible and for a couple of months it drove us to go beyond what we thought we were capable of. This is when I knew SYA was the right family for me, something that I continue to believe to this day. The non-profit itself was founded by local Sacramento youth, and it is coordinated by a college student. Lead advocates like myself spearhead specific projects and assist with recruitment. Additionally, there is an anchor organization, the Alliance for Education Solutions, and a national parent organization, Opportunity Youth United. It is worth noting, that there is no one better equipped to be community advocates for young people, than young people themselves. In fact, the millennial generation prioritizes public funding of youth programs, more so than Gen X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent generation.[4] With projects on the horizon, like the Sacramento Youth Bill of Rights, I anticipate working with my fellow activists to continue creating the change we know is needed in our communities.

My time with SYA has not consisted entirely of successes. Sure, we started strong, with facilitation trainings and workshops to understand how to be effective in organizing and mobilizing. Yet, as full-time students involved in a plethora of other extracurriculars, we stumbled onto a less productive period following our summer retreat at Chico State University. This was unfortunate, considering we had some great momentum going, and our advisors from the Alliance for Education Solutions were ecstatic to continue supporting our projects, both monetarily and in guidance. However, from these shortcomings we grew and expanded in scope. One project emerged regardless of our busy schedules, and that was the second Sacramento Youth Town Hall. The intent of this town hall was to provide young people with a venue in which to voice their concerns and ideas, and to empower them to act on these concerns and ideas in positive and impactful ways. Several action plans that resulted from this event’s discussions were strategies for internship and employment immersion and mitigating gang violence through young male mentorship initiatives. The feeling of seeing so much beneficial work being done, by young people themselves, was extremely rewarding. The SYA leadership understood it was time to amp things up again, and we regained our momentum. The chance to facilitate youth workshops and civic engagement, led to our own internal unity and bonding. For the young attendees, it produced important friendships with people they never before met, and likely would never have met. Our cohesions as a unit came as a result of our extensive interaction, and this positively affected our work, and our ability to create community amongst newer and younger activists.

There is community in activism; I hope that much has been proven. Though I have explained the internal sense of community within SYA, I now move to demonstrate there is community in the networking SYA members engage in. In attending community forums, SYA members form meaningful connections with other youth-focused, community based organizations (CBO’s) and youth service providers. These include local, like-minded groups like the Sacramento Kid’s First Coalition and Improving Your Tomorrow. Establishing relationships with these organizations is important, and I can personally attest to finding comradery amongst the individuals that lead these other non-profits. It is also beneficial because knowing what other resources exist and are available to youth across the city allows SYA members like myself to direct a homeless youth to Wind Youth Services or an LGBT youth struggling with social conformity to the LGBT Youth Task Force. SYA members also however, attend a host of other public forums. Recently, I attended the Sister Cities presentation to the city council, were the famed non-profit made the case for establishing a civic and resource connection between Sacramento and Gonaives, Haiti. The global and cultural immersion extended beyond this presentation, as the non-profit offered the students in the room a chance to participate and to serve as goodwill ambassadors, possibly visiting the city all together. Even if I myself am not able to ultimately participate, I am capable of recruiting some of the engaged youth I work with as part of SYA, so they too can expand their horizons and become more globally aware.

No one is better equipped to accurately reflect their communities, moreso than its own residents. From ensuring the sanctity of civic forums connecting young people to their elected officials and to each other, to fostering relationships with external resources for these young people to further thrive, SYA members tackle a multitude of issues and in the process, construct an intertwined infrastructure and support system for youth development. Looking towards our major feats ahead, I know we will succeed, because we are together. I mean this is in the genuine sense of togetherness, where we know each other on a personal level and are joyful to reunite and do work. This is what community looks like. This is what civic engagement looks like. I am proud to call this community home, and I endeavor to continue strengthening it, to in turn, strengthen this city, and its role in the modern world.

 

[1] Wanshel, Elise. “Lady Bird Becomes Best-Reviewed Movie in Rotten Tomatoes’ History.” Huffington Post (2017). https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lady-bird-best-reviewed-rotten-tomatoes_us_5a1c6418e4b0d23f4c3b40f0

[2] “Sacramento County: Quick Facts.” United States Census Bureau (2016). https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sacramentocountycalifornia/PST045216

[3] Schenirer, Jay, and Rick Jennings, Eric Guerra. “A proposal to fund youth programs in Sacramento.” Sacramento Bee (2017). http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article84477042.html

 

[4] “Millennials in Adulthood: Higher Priority for Government: Programs for the Young or Old?.” Pew Research Center (2014). http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/10/04/the-politics-of-climate/