2014-15 MYC Retreat

2014-15 MYC Highlights

During the 2014-15 MYC year, we took our work beyond City Hall and Gresham Schools Building to the youth in our communities. We held several community events including a Youth Call to Action around police violence; the youth Transit Justice Day of Action in partnership with OPAL and other local organizations; and helped develop and facilitate focus groups on chronic absenteeism and youth engagement in school and after school programs. The MYC continues to build relationships with youth to hear their perspectives on community issues. Committees are evaluated and realigned at the annual mid-year retreat in February based on feedback provided by the community, MYC sponsors, and youth commissioners.  

The MYC does most of its community work in three designated committees: Education/Youth Voice, Sustainability, and Youth Against Violence. The most notable achievements of these committees during the 2014-2015 program year include:

Education/Youth Voice Committee

  • Efforts to identify root causes of chronic absenteeism, and creation of a report and presentation containing the committee's findings, which were presented to the Communities Supporting Youth Collaborative of Cradle to Career.
  • Presentations given at the SPCC International Kids' Day Conference, and the Alliance 4 Kids Conference.
  • Facilitation of a training for the World Affairs Council's Young Leaders in Action program.
  • Assistance provided to Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) and Centennial High School.

Sustainability Committee

  • Facilitation of two workshops at the National Youth Bike Summit in Seattle, WA.
  • Creation of a Youth Transit Justice Day of Action (TJDOA), in partnership with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon and APANO (Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon). 
  • Focus groups held with youth from El Programa Hispano, MEChA at Roosevelt High School, Portland State University, Outside In, Benson Reconnection Center, and Franklin High School.

Youth Against Violence Committee

  • In partnership with the Portland Police Bureau, creation of three workshops for Portland youth, which were piloted at Roosevelt High School in May.
  • Eight mini-grants to local schools and organizations to fund their own summits, as well as their efforts to bring awareness to violence and find solutions in their own communities.
  • The Sexual and Dating Violence subcommittee's work, assisted by Erin Fairchild of Multnomah County's Defending Childhood Initiative, to create training tools showing police officers how to best work with youth victims of sexual assault.