Youth Forward MKE Showcases Youth Leadership

At their September 28 Coalition meeting, Youth Forward MKE didn’t just talk about youth leadership – they demonstrated this leadership in action. Attendees of the virtual meeting learned firsthand from Youth Forward Ambassadors and youth representatives of local organizations precisely what it means to prioritize youth voice and how adults can support youth in becoming advocates for change.

“If we do this right, all youth could benefit,” said Deh Nee, the Youth Forward MKE Ambassador who opened the meeting.

His optimistic words set the stage for the exciting youth-centered stories and updates that followed, ranging from progress reports on key initiatives to spotlights on local groups who are lifting up the true power of youth.

Design Your Future

The 2021 Design Your Future Fellowship was a lesson in youth leadership. 58 young people from around the city came together to learn about their own power and brainstorm ideas to improve high school for Black male youth.

This year, implementation coordinator David Emmanuelle Castillo of Equitable Systems Consultants took these outstanding youth-generated ideas and consolidated them into three proposals. Proposal 1 aims to make mental health a standard practice in schools, while Proposals 2 and 3 will provide wraparound supports and create an autonomous youth council.

Now, thanks in part to a $25,000 Violence Prevention Grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Proposal 1 is officially underway! The funding was awarded to Sky Schools, who have been tasked with piloting the proposal at North Division and Pathways High Schools this fall. Through the project, they’ll be creating targeted mentoring and mental health curriculum aimed at improving the lives of Black boys and boys of color.

Delonta Henderson, a current Youth Forward MKE Ambassador who participated in the Design Your Future Fellowship, shared his thoughts on what it meant to be part of the fellowship and how it feels to see his ideas in action.

“Part of the proposal was one of my suggestions,” he said. “To know that one of my suggestions is actually being implemented and is going to help youth in the city, it makes me happy.”

Violence Prevention Grants

In response to the rise in violence that’s plagued our community – along with youth calls for greater mental health supports – the Greater Milwaukee Foundation awarded a Violence Prevention Grant to the Coalition this summer to invest in youth-identified programming. Led by our Ambassadors, the Coalition gave funding to three organizations across the city in order to increase access to mental health supports and create more equitable and inclusive school environments.

In addition to the $25,000 awarded to Sky Schools for the pilot of Proposal 1, the Coalition awarded $25,000 to MENTOR Greater Milwaukee for their inaugural Youth Voice Summit on August 2, which provided a space for youth to talk about today’s issues and have their voices heard. A third $25K grant was given to United Way Community Schools, who will use the funds to extend options for nutritious school lunches. The final grant remains in progress.

Youth Group Spotlight: PEAK Initiative

PEAK’s mission is to bring out the limitless potential in young leaders through extraordinary experiences and relationships. Three such young leaders – Amaiaca Wright, Nalyla Sarabia-Childs and Breonna LeFlore – were on hand to talk about their formative experiences with PEAK and the skills they’ve learned along the way.

Breonna started coming to PEAK in first grade. For her, it’s been all about the relationships – both with her peers and the adults who actually took the time to get to know her. PEAK allowed her to feel heard and seen for who she was, and even granted her the opportunity to lead a workshop with fellow youth where she could help them feel heard in return.

“The purpose of being a part of [PEAK’s] Leadership Training Program is basically just to give teens a space to connect and understand more about day-to-day life and being a leader,” explained Nalyla.

For Nalyla, PEAK has been a place that feels like home, where everyone is family. Her time as a media intern, program assistant, and coordinator for the Speak on It podcast have shown her how to lead activities, work with others, and create safe spaces where youth can talk openly about their lives.

Amaiaca’s time with PEAK has been similarly rewarding. Her internships have taught her everything from branding and public speaking to how to lead social events and work with kids.

“I come back to PEAK because it is an outlet to keep busy and to grow as a leader in training,” she says.

Youth Group Spotlight: MENTOR Greater Milwaukee

Two more young leaders showed up to represent MENTOR Greater Milwaukee, which aims to expand mentoring relationships across the city. Over the summer, their Social Justice Ambassadors worked to build relationships and advocate for mentoring, in addition to planning and facilitating the inaugural Youth Voice Summit.

“We wanted to share the importance of youth voice and learn how to use our own voices,” said Ambassador Savion Jarvis.

Their packed summer schedules were filled with learning and professional development opportunities, conversations with local organizations, and hands-on mentoring with the Boys and Girls Club.

“One of our biggest events was the Youth Voice Summit,” said Carmelo Knight, another Social Justice Ambassador. “I think the purpose of the youth summit as a whole was really getting youth together to talk about things going on and to find better ways to advocate for themselves. … I think it really helped serve the purpose of getting youth to learn how to use their voices.”

The event – composed of 4 youth-led workshops, activities, relationship-building and giveaways – explored the power of mentorship, current issues like reckless driving and more, with an emphasis on the power of youth voice to create change.

“Us as youth ran it, too,” explained Savion. “We decided where we wanted to be. We decided what we wanted to talk about. So it was a major steeping stone for us to find our voice, as well.”

How can adults support youth leadership?

As ambassadors from Youth Forward MKE, PEAK, and MENTOR Greater Milwaukee have shown, our young people are capable of amazing things. With the right support, they can create safe spaces for their peers, facilitate conversations and start tearing down the barriers that stand in the way of success. Naturally, the Coalition meeting ended with a question: How can we be more intentional in lifting up and utilizing youth voice and leadership?

“I think it is about making sure our environments are completely conducive for these young people to come in with their full selves and show up as they fully are,” said Joshua Zawadi, Teen Program Manager at PEAK.

Sebastián Fuentes, Community Engagement Manager at Milwaukee Succeeds, simplified it into three easy steps: “Ask. Listen. Equip. You ask them what they want. …You listen to what they have to say, and then you try to give them all the tools that they need to be able to explore that.”

“Some advice that I would give to adults,” explained Nalyla from PEAK, “is I need an open-minded and encouraging person and I need someone to be open to hear my voice.”

Next Steps

Deh stated it perfectly in his introduction: “This is just the beginning. We will soon have an empire of youth.”

Youth Forward MKE and its partners have accomplished a lot this year – but there’s still a long way to go. Join us for the last Coalition meeting of year on December 14 to learn even more about our growing empire of youth and the changes they’re making in Milwaukee!