Meet the YALC
At the beginning of 2021, MDHI began a thoughtful reset of our Youth Action Board (YAB) - a committee of young adults ages 18-24 with lived experience of homelessness. For years, the YAB had several challenges that had to be addressed head-on:
How do we create a safe space where youth can feel heard and not tokenized?
How do we share our lived experiences in a way that is not traumatizing for ourselves or others?
How can MDHI invest in the youth more than we solicit from them?
How can we elevate their voices to empower them to create meaningful change in our community?
With these questions in mind, Sierra Trujillo, our Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, decided to rename the group the Young Adult Leadership Committee (YALC). This group would treat its members like “young adults” instead of “youth” and focus on giving them the tools to succeed through professional development. With the help of Layla Said, a staff member at MDHI with lived experience of homelessness, the YALC rooted itself in an empathy framework that is person-centered, needs-based, and culturally competent.
Sierra and Layla have put a lot of thought and intention into creating a safe and culturally appropriate space where members feel valued and heard rather than triggered and tokenized. The YALC does this in a few ways, including but not limited to:
Reading a Land and Cultural acknowledgment at every meeting to ground ourselves in the history that brought us to this work
Being transparent about our group agreements so that everyone is treated the way they want to be treated
Encouraging everyone to always advocate for their needs
Doing a wellness check-in with every member before diving into the agenda for that meeting
Engaging in professional development training that promotes empathy, combats internalized oppression, and creates confident leaders
Asking for feedback after every meeting to ensure that everyone feels safe, heard, valued, and engaged
The YALC will continue to engage the community through our YALC page, where you can learn more about our work, hear from young adults with lived experiences of homelessness, and apply to advocate with us.