There has been so much talk about the upcoming midterm elections, and even the Presidential race in 2024. But the real question is: what do voters really want?
“There were moments I felt like I failed her,” said Joseph Yusuf, now 26, who balanced being a father with being a student at Howard University. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) Joseph Yusuf had all of the anxieties of a new student when he started Howard University in 2016. Would he make any friends? Could he…
There are currently more than 400,000 children in foster care in the United States. While the pandemic has made life more difficult for these vulnerable kids, many say the foster care system itself has been putting them at risk for decades. Special correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault sat down with one former foster child who is now…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: [email protected] October 29, 2021 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, young leaders from A New Deal for Youth released the following statement on the ways President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” framework would impact young people living in America: “If we are going to rebuild our country to being better than it was…
We are so proud of #ND4Y Changemaker Sixto Cancel for sharing his story and ways America can improve the foster care system in the New York Times. Sixto writes, "When I left the foster care system, I founded a nonprofit, Think of Us, to promote systems change for foster care. We partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation and…
Washington, DC, September 2—Earlier this summer, the Biden-Harris Administration invited a coalition of youth and young adult facing organizations to participate in a roundtable on youth employment as part of the Administration’s comprehensive strategy to respond to violence and ensure public safety. The Administration’s proposals to invest significant resources in youth employment and evidence-based community…
Washington, DC (CNN)When Joe Biden campaigned for the presidency, he called himself a bridge to a new generation of leaders in the Democratic Party. While some frustrations remain, young leaders are saying the President Biden's administration is making good progress on Candidate Biden's pledge. Advocates say that the youth-focused proposals in Biden's "Build Back Better Plan," which includes the…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: [email protected] July 13, 2021 WASHINGTON, DC – Today, young leaders from the A New Deal for Youth initiative called on Congress to pass the “H.R. 1 - For the People Act.” A New Deal for Youth Changemakers, as the young leaders are called, firmly support passage of the bill, but note that it is the bare minimum Congress can do to protect American democracy. A New Deal for Youth rated the ‘For the People Act’ a 3.3 out of 10 on its legislative…
Before the pandemic, 1 in 9 youth were considered disconnected, meaning not in school and without a job. Now, that number is 1 in 4. This disconnection can have ramifications on the life and career these youth will lead 60 years down the line. For employers who want to rebuild, hire and retain diversity, and…
“The ‘pay your dues’ concept is a trap.” Recently, Monica*, 22, showed up to her job at a fast food restaurant and was ordered to take out braids she’d had put in less than 24 hours ago. This was despite the fact that her hair was in a ponytail and covered in two hairnets and…
Youth-Centered, Equity-Focused Framework to Close Gap for America’s Young as Nation Heads Toward Post-Pandemic Future May 25, 2021, WASHINGTON, DC – As the nation heads toward recovery from the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, young community leaders will release the New Deal for Youth Policy Platform on Wednesday, May 26, from 4-6pm EST on Facebook and YouTube. The comprehensive…
Meyiya Coleman, 22, describes familial connections to the issues she organizes around. Growing up on the West Side of Chicago, she says she was about eight years old when she started engaging in community activism with her family. At a young age, she lost a cousin she loved dearly when he was gunned down at…
Carlil Pittman knows trauma firsthand. As the co-founder of the Chicago-based youth organization GoodKidsMadCity-Englewood, he grieved the loss of Delmonte Johnson, a young community activist, more than two years ago to the very thing the teen fought fiercely against: gun violence. He’s also been angered and frustrated by the onslaught of stories of Black Americans killed at…
(CNN)Talia Kaganovsky has struggled with her mental health for years. But when Covid-19 hit, "it was almost like a giant slap in the face," the 18-year-old freshman at University of Pittsburgh said. Kaganovsky, like all Americans, had to readjust her habits and expectations when the pandemic began a year ago. For many high school seniors, that…
Joe Biden ran to be a president for all Americans, and this includes young people who were critical contributors to his victory last November. Young people have the power to influence presidential elections, but whether they influence presidencies is another matter entirely. Biden ran on promises that matter to young people. But, after less than three…
Even before covid-19, teen parents faced greater levels of housing, financial and food insecurity
Liss Raber (Courtesy of Michael Holley); Araseli Chicas (Courtesy of Araseli Chicas); Aysia Miller-Wansel (Courtesy of Aysia Miller-Wansel).
Rainesford Stauffer
Mar. 9, 2021
Aysia Miller-Wansel, 17, is saving to buy a car and, when she turns 18, move out of her group home…
A group of student activists ages 14 to 25 is urging the Biden administration and Congress to create a plan for youth modeled on the Roosevelt administration’s response to widespread unemployment of young adults during the Great Depression. The group is asking for what they term a New Deal for Youth. Among other goals, it would…