Testimony: Reflections on the 2021 Youth Leadership Council

 

By Bobbye Hall, MAP YLC Alum ’21

As a young person, it’s frustrating to feel like the world treats me as though my age means my thoughts and feelings don’t matter. I feel that society wants to shape and mold our brains to turn us against our authentic selves. The MAP Youth Leadership Council (YLC) is one place that dares young people to uncover how we can change the world around us with compassion and love, while also staying true to ourselves.

MAP’s goal is to give young people a meaningful stake in policy-making that directly impacts their lives. MAP’s YLC program coordinators constantly and actively welcomed our insight for decisions regarding programming activities, including the inaugural MAP Youth Policy Summit. It was always so exciting to be asked, “What’s your take on this?” or “How does this make you feel?” especially since it was never asked as an afterthought or as though we were being lectured the entire time.

There are new legislations being passed every day that impact NYC youth, yet we’re never involved in the decision-making. For these reasons, joining YLC was a very refreshing experience, and I am honored to have been a part of the inaugural YLC cohort!

The YLC participants were a diverse group of youth between ages 16-21 from 17 different NYCHA houses. Although we lived in different neighborhoods across NYC, the one thing that brought us together was our interest in the improvement of our communities and the city overall. My peers and I are uniquely positioned to tell this story because we have lived and grown in this city long enough to know what needs to be done to move it in a better direction, especially for the generations coming after us.

With the overwhelming access to technology in today’s world, children are being moved further away from thinking critically. I really appreciated that I was constantly learning from and being challenged by the YLC curriculum. Honestly, it was slightly awkward *actually* meeting people, in person, at Shaunese Crawford’s photography workshop, but I quickly shifted my focus to her presentation about photography styles. A workshop with The Moth gave me a deeper understanding of the YLC participants through personal storytelling.

Through weekly meetings and check-ins, I began to form bonds with people I didn’t expect to. For 9 months, we collaborated with community partners to create policy recommendations to combat long-standing issues in our communities. We organized the YLC Action Agenda by discussing ideas to make positive changes for the safety and wellness of our communities.

With the overwhelming access to technology in today’s world, children are being moved further away from thinking critically. I really appreciated that I was constantly learning from and being challenged by the YLC curriculum. Honestly, it was slightly awkward *actually* meeting people, in person, at Shaunese Crawford’s photography workshop, but I quickly shifted my focus to her presentation about photography styles. A workshop with The Moth gave me a deeper understanding of the YLC participants through personal storytelling. Through weekly meetings and check-ins, I began to form bonds with people I didn’t expect to. For 9 months, we collaborated with community partners to create policy recommendations to combat long-standing issues in our communities. We organized the YLC Action Agenda by discussing ideas to make positive changes for the safety and wellness of our communities.

Now, after almost a year of collaboration, I feel as though my family has grown a little. My vision for the YLC is only that it flourishes! I wish that it reaches the farthest corners of New York. I wish that we continue to discover even more profound ways to make positive change.

As a young girl, I spent, as most children do, most of my time imagining a more colorful and wondrous world for myself. A generally kinder, more peaceful world. If we all took a minute each day to do that again, I’m sure we’d be much better off.


Are you interested in joining the MAP Youth Leadership Council?
The application period for the 2022 cohort  is now open! Apply now!