In last week’s blog post we introduced you to Akia: a high school junior, member of BYOP (Baltimore Youth Organizing Project), and organizer of a recent youth-led mayoral candidate assembly. We mentioned that in their efforts to organize this assembly, BYOP met with youth from Brown Memorial Presbyterian and invited them to attend the assembly. This week, meet Nick: a Brown Memorial youth who attended the assembly and spoke with us about his perspective on it, the relationship with BYOP, and the work still to be done in Baltimore.

​Here at YMCo, we are certain that youth are changing the world. Last month a group of youth in Baltimore proved us right when they organized and attended a Mayoral Candidate Accountability Assembly in their community. This event was sponsored by BUILD (Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development), and asked the candidates in the upcoming mayoral election to specifically address the concerns of Baltimore’s youth. They did so by partnering with Baltimore Youth Organizing Project (BYOP). Akia Jones is a high school junior and Baltimore local who is heavily involved with BYOP and told us that BYOP is “a youth-led program that helps to provide different opportunities for youth in Baltimore…basically the microphone for youth in the community. We ask the youth what they want and then we deliver the news to whoever’s in power.” This week we got to talk with Akia about his hopes for Baltimore and BYOP, and why he feels this work is so important.

Meet Colby and Olivia: Two St. Mary’s School students who are learning that addiction isn’t as simple as it’s made out to be. These two ladies are spending their junior year volunteering with Healing Transitions Men’s Facility in Raleigh, a rehab facility who offers “innovative peer-based recovery oriented services to homeless and under-served individuals with alcoholismand other drug addictions.” Colby and Olivia served with RYM last spring during St. Mary’s COMPASS week, and Olivia was able to work at Healing Transitions Women’s FacHT-Logo-cmykility one afternoon. ​ Olivia’s eyes

​This week on the YMCo blog we’ve got some guest bloggers! Ida McMillan-Zapf is a current freshman in college, but as a youth at Christ Episcopal Church in Roanoke, VA, she was active in getting a fund for Project Hope, an organization which aids in education access for students living without housing. Since Ida and her class have graduated out of the youth program at CEC, Garretson Ayers, an 8th grader, has since gotten involved with the project. Below are reflections from both Ida and Garretson about their involvement with Project Hope as youth:

A few weeks ago on the blog we told you about some Disciples of Christ youth who had participated in a “Kickstart Justice” lock-in (read that post here). One of the agencies those youth learned about and served with was A Place at the Table, one of Raleigh Youth Mission’s newest partner agencies!