Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced the allocation of $1 million Wednesday to Youth Lead the Change, a youth-led organization that encourages participation in local government and budget voting.
Youth Lead the Change has already voted to fund projects such as granting Chromebooks to Boston Public Schools and funding a skateboard feasibility study, according to a Wednesday press release.
Walsh said in the release that Youth Lead the Change will help develop the next generation of leaders.
“By engaging our young people in city government, we are training our next generation of leaders to think critically about how government can better serve our residents,” he said.
Shari Davis, executive director of the Department of Youth Engagement and Employment, said the funds allocated to Youth Lead the Change are part of Boston’s capital budget.
“This isn’t money that was added to the capital budget,” Davis said. “The Mayor took a step back and said let’s take a piece of it and allow the community to participate and decide how it is spent.”
Davis said members of Youth Lead the Change assemble to address problems in the community.
“It’s literally young people who are invested in the community, writing the rules for the process,” Davis said. “We actually train a group of young people to go out and be facilitators in this process, so they are leading idea collection assemblies.”
Several city department heads have been impressed by the work done in Youth Lead the Change and the goals accomplished by the youth, Davis said.
“We had conversations with city department heads and leaders who worked with Youth Lead the Change who said, ‘These young people blew me away. I didn’t know they were so practical, insightful or innovative and capable of dealing with complex issues,’” she said.
Melvin Delgado, a professor at the Boston University School of Social Work, said Youth Lead the Change could give young people ownership of their surroundings they would not otherwise have.
“The more we can integrate youth into the life of a city, the greater ownership they have about their experience and surroundings,” Delgado said.
Projects like Youth Lead the Change, he said, could also give young people the sense that they are part of the political process.
“One of my pet peeves about the political process is that it gets very narrowly defined as voting. That’s important, but there is also a political process that goes beyond voting in elections,” Delgado said. “Voting that will go on in that committee, for example, is also democracy in action. It is a way of getting youth involved in a political process they can understand.”
Delgado said Youth Lead the Change plays an important role in bridging the gap between adults and youth in the political process and ensuring that a variety of voices are heard.
“Generally, as adults, we decide what is important for youth to know and we want their input on that, but youth have questions that adults may not think about asking,” he said. “If we want meaningful decision-making, the question-making should not be plopped on the constituency, in this case youth. The questions should be developed by the youth.”
Several residents said they are excited about Youth Lead the Change and the potential it has to change the city.
Ralph Chery, 29, of Brighton, said Youth Lead the Change could lead to more youth involvement in local politics.
“It’s a good way for people to be civic-minded and involved in local politics,” he said. “This is really interesting, and I’d love to know more about it.”
Kelley Italo, 25, of Allston, said young people will feel more connected to their communities thanks to Youth Lead the Change.
“The way that they are able to get young people involved, not just in politics, but their community as well,” she said. “I feel like a lot of young people feel disconnected from their communities, and this seems like a great way for them to feel connected.”
Vincent Zhou, 24, of Allston said Youth Lead the Change can be an outlet for youth to bring new ideas to the city.
“Youth will bring a fresh perspective,” he said. “They think outside the box. They can find solutions to problems that older people might overlook.”
