Boston Mayor Wu and the Office of Youth Engagement and Advancement announced the launch of Youth Speaks Boston, the first-ever citywide needs assessment.
Youth Speaks launched on Nov. 13 and will focus on “identifying gaps in resources or programming for individuals ages 14 to 25 during afterschool and after-work hours,” according to the City of Boston. The survey is available to the public and is open from November 2024 to January 2025.
“It’s very important for us to include young people in the work that we do, especially when we’re making decisions that are going to impact their lives directly,” Pedro Cruz, executive director of OYEA, said.
OYEA began developing Youth Speaks Boston after studying surveys focused on young Boston residents from the past two decades and finding a gap in the research, Cruz said.
“There’s a lot of surveys that have been done, but they’re really hyper-focused on either mental health or substance abuse or gun violence,” Cruz said. “There was really no data to show what [the Boston youth] need in general.”
OYEA led the survey’s development in collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital, the Boston Public Health Commission and the CHANGE Lab at Northeastern University, according to the City.
In the past, each partner organization independently conducted their own needs assessment, but none were focused on the needs of Boston youth during afterschool and after-work hours, Cruz said.
“The role that [OYEA] played was to break those silos down, bring everybody to the table and really help everybody design our surveys simultaneously,” Cruz said. “We were really intentional about it, so that we can make sure we cover as much ground as possible.”
The survey is only the first phase of the assessment. The second phase begins after the responses have been collected in early 2025, when peer-led focus groups examine topics that OYEA determines need further evaluation, according to the City.
The BPHC produced its own survey, along with a city-wide community health needs assessment in collaboration with the Boston Children’s Hospital, said Tibrine da Fonesca, project director for BPHC.
The CHANGE Lab also produced their own needs assessment, said Idia Thurston, director of the CHANGE Lab.
“Our hope is that this will be information that’s shared with all community members,” Thurston said. “We’re building a coalition of resources that anyone who’s supporting young people can have access to.”
Fonseca said after both surveys collect their responses, the commission and OYEA will share data to “support one another’s processes.”
Cruz said he anticipates the survey data will allow them to “identify low-hanging fruits,” referring to programs they can implement quickly before they begin to work on long-term solutions.
The goal of Youth Speaks Boston is to hear directly from young people and involve Boston’s youth in the City’s decision making, Cruz said.
“We want to help influence the decisions and the investments that are coming out of City Hall and also that are coming out of the community, moving forward based on the needs expressed by the young people who take this survey,” Cruz said.
