Mid-City CAN’s Youth Council is thrilled to share the news that councilmembers have approved funding for Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park!

San Diego’s councilmembers on June 11, 2024 approved $1 million in community green space funding to support the Revitalization of Henwood Park in the City Heights Urban Village, an advocacy campaign Youth Council has led for nearly two years. Last year the youth's advocacy resulted in $750K for the park.

The youth told personal stories of the importance of Henwood Park.

"Our parks are at the heart of City Heights, they serve as a means for families to come together and gather, a place for children to play, and most importantly a main host for community events that bring us all together. We need a budget that invests in our parks and our youth," said Youth Council member Anthony.

Click here to read Youth Council testimonials from the June 7, 2024 budget hearing.

Congratulations Youth Council! Mid-City CAN and your City Heights community are proud of your passion, commitment, and service to your community!

Youth Council’s work exemplifies the positive change that young people can achieve when provided opportunity, resources, and support.

Mid-City CAN’s Youth Council did it!

They secured $750k in the 2024 San Diego Budget to kick off the revitalization of The City Heights Urban Village, which will improve Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park! Congratulations to our incredible and hard working youth! We and so many others are so proud of you all!

Youth Council's campaign continues as the $750K is the initial funding and an additional $2.5 million is needed for the entire construction cost of the park. A summary of the campaign can be found below. UPDATE: Youth Council was back at City Hall on May 1, 2024 to advocate for more funding. Click here to read what they said to the councilmembers that day.

This is a huge win for the City Heights community, and a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in this project. The initial funding will help us move forward with the next steps needed towards improving the park and creating a safe and vibrant space for all to enjoy.

In January, Youth Council identified the need for several upgrades and updates that they wanted for the park space. The campaign started with the support of Council President Sean Elo-Rivera. Youth Council worked tirelessly to ensure that the other councilmembers recognize what this park meant for the community and made sure that they supported their ask.

Their efforts included weekly meetings, lobby visits, social media storms, letter campaigns, calling City Council offices and showing up to all 3 of the budget public hearings to give public comment. Their passion, commitment, resiliency to continue fighting for the community throughout this budget cycle was truly inspiring.

"The $750,000 for City Heights Urban Village, that is you. You guys did that. This city was not having that conversation and you should take a round of applause. That’s 3 quarters of a $1 million dollars that’s going to improve a really, really important park and that’s happening because of you," said Elo-Rivera to the youth. "The whole community in City Heights and the city owes a thanks to you all for doing that work."

We are thrilled to share the news that Mid-City CAN's Youth Council has been named "Youth Leaders of the Year" by District 9! The youth received the award at District 9's State of the District event on Saturday, January 27, 2024 at Wilson Middle School in City Heights.

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Thank you to all the individuals and organizations that met with us and supported by sending in public comment, letters, and participating in our social media storm. Thank you to the Parks and Recreation department, and the District 9 team for helping us throughout the process.

Thank you to all the youth who made this possible for the residents of City Heights and for demonstrating that youth deserve to be a part of the decision making process.

We're excited to see a revitalized Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park!

View more photos from the campaign by visiting our Flickr page.