The Legacy of Youth Engagement: Acknowledging 120 Years of Importance and Supporting Today's Youth

Fighting for the Future of 902,016 Youth in our Region

In this guest column, the three coauthors of the recent report "How the Pandemic Response Has Failed Young People" write letters to themselves from their descendants, imagining a future transformed by youth-empowering policies.

"For young people like myself, we did not have a safety net, we were the safety net," says Madison Nardy, a member the Youth Action Board of Community Legal Services, and a coauthor of its recently released report.

"I graduated into a pandemic saddled with debt," says Alexi Chacon, a member the Youth Action Board of Community Legal Services, and a coauthor of its recently released report.

"It doesn’t make sense that securing a home takes this much suffering," says Deja Morgan, a member the Youth Action Board of Community Legal Services, and a coauthor of its recently released report.

"How the Pandemic Response Has Failed Young People and What We Need to Thrive" was co-written and researched by three members of the Youth Action Board of Community Legal Services.

Columnist Ami Patel Hopkins offers resources for educators and parents to continue to empower students and children to use their voices — as 17-year-old Darnella did — and to hold people accountable.