Check out our Youth Council Instagram to stay up to date with the youth's organizing work. Please contact Laura Baeza, Youth Organizer, at [email protected] to learn more about Youth Council and how youth build power in City Heights.

"I live in City Heights, I go to Hoover High School and I'm a Junior. I really like how diverse my community is and that I can meet different cultures right here where I live.

I like how supportive my school is—teachers and staff believe in students and how much power we have. A safe school for me means going to school to learn without feeling like someone is going to attack to attack me.

The reason why students walked out on March 12th is that there have been too many issues with gun violence in the country. Sixteen-year-olds have access to guns and have mental issues and go and shoot up schools. The march was to bring attention to the issue and bring about gun control laws.

The walkout was a memorial for the victims of the Parkland shooting. We formed a circle and a heart in the middle of the field and made seventeen speeches honoring the seventeen victims.

I decided to get involved because it is a big issue that affects many people. It's important to be active and be a part of something bigger and changing. Most importantly, when we're talking about gun control, there should be stricter background checks.

I found out about Mid-City CAN's Youth Council when Laura came to my English class to talk about Youth Council and its goal to help and improve our community. This is something I'm very interested in, this is where I live. 

Youth are the ones that are out in the community and we see the problems. Adults should have a part in this, but youth should be more involved. In City Heights, we get stopped more by the police because of our color and race than other communities. I think students should have a safe environment where they can speak their minds.

I want a City Heights with more housing access, more streetlights, easier opportunities for transportation, safer intersections."

- Dalia Villa