Youth Commission in the News
Youth Commission News Articles
"With new funding to SFUSD, youth wants better school food, among other needs"
The San Francisco Youth Commission hosted a D9/D11 Listening Session in regards to the Student Success Fund.
"Guest Opinion: Let the queerest generation vote"
Chair Ewan Barker Plummer contributed on an opinion editorial on the many reasons 16-year-olds should be allowed to vote.
https://www.ebar.com/story.php?ch=news&sc=news&id=329609
"San Francisco Supervisors Chan and Stefani Demand Protected Bike Lanes for Arguello Boulevard"
The San Francisco Youth Commission authored a resolution urging SFMTA to install protected bike lanes and intersections on Arguello.
https://sf.streetsblog.org/2023/05/03/423453/
"Manny's: The Future of San Francisco Freeways - State and Local Perspectives"
Emily Nguyen, D11 Commissioner and Chair of the Youth Commission, speaks about the Central Freeway.
"Central Subway Opening Marks a Milestone for San Francisco and Chinatown"
"It means a lot, because as someone who grew up taking trips to Chinatown with my grandparents, it wasn’t an easy trip — having to walk through hills and having to take multiple bus rides — and I think this really centralizes it and gives people, like my younger self and my grandparents, an opportunity to reach places that they previously had a lot more trouble reaching," said Adrianna Zhang, who serves as the District 7 representative on the San Francisco Youth Commission.
https://www.kqed.org/news/11932838/central-subway-opening-marks-a-milestone-for-sf-and-chinatown
"My car-less trip from San Francisco to California's oldest state park, Big Basin" (8/31/22)
New District 5 Commissioner, Hayden Miller, explores California with only public transportation
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/public-transit-big-basin-trip-17407603.php
"Leaders under 30: SF Youth Commissioner Jayden Tanaka on valuing diverse young voices" (02/10/21)
A high school student talks about the role of young people in the political process -- and why we need more affordable housing.
https://48hills.org/2021/02/leaders-under-30-sf-youth-commissioner-jayden-tanaka/
"Nonbinary person heads youth panel" (9/19/18)
YC swears in new nonbinary chair and transgender vice chair. Almost a third of the YC identify as LGBTQ.
https://www.ebar.com/news/news//265664
“Queer person named to SF Youth Commission” (9/28/17)
23-year old LGBTQ and Immigration Activist Paola Desgarennes appointed by gay D8 supervisor Jeff Sheehy to Youth Commission.
https://issuu.com/bayareareporter/docs/september_28__2017 (pg 14)
"'Jarring' internet access survey results embolden leaders of citywide broadband" (6/5/17)
Many of the city’s less-privileged households (including seniors, students, and affordable housing residents) cannot afford internet access due to the high costs of each server. The SF Department of Technology and Supervisor Mark Farrell has taken initiative in devising a citywide broadband plan to offer free internet in more locations throughout SF.
“SF supervisor pledges to help nonprofit amid call to boost services for homeless youth” (5/11/17)
YC presents the construction of homeless TAY housing as a priority that has yet to be fulfilled as of 2015. Supervisor Ronen is adamant to find funding in Mayor Lee’s 2017 budget proposals for homeless TAY.
“City commission calls for a year of recognizing homeless youth and greater investment” (6/2/17)
YC urges Mayor Lee and BOS to increase spendings on homeless services, especially targeting homeless TAY, from $30 million to $305 million for the next year. YC also recommends creating a new TAY Housing goal of 2025, as the 2015 TAY Housing goal has yet to be reached.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/city-commission-calls-year-recognizing-homeless-youth-greater-investment/
“Do the math: More arrests will fill the jail, not close it” (2.24.18)
Mayor Breed and Chief of Police Scott have introduced new resolutions and practices of “community policing” that monitor car theft and the prosecution of thieves more closely. They are however, disregarding the reason most thefts happen and the people that are most engaged in it (homeless or mentally unstable people). Instead of being sent to social centers for support or rehabilitation centers for health, most homeless people are being sent to jail causing city officials to propose the expansion and construction of more incarceration centers in SF. YC urges BOS against the proposition.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/math-arrests-will-fill-jail-not-close/
“Youth commissioner pushes SF to reduce incarceration rate for young adults” (1/2/18)
Zak Franet, mayoral appointee on the YC, explains his past confrontations with police and juvenile incarceration. YC director, Adele Carpenter, speaks of Young Adult Court (an alternative to jail for TAY), a resolution created by YC as a result of the City’s desire to expand the construction of incarceration facilities in SF.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/youth-commissioner-pushes-sf-reduce-incarceration-rate-young-adults/
“Balboa High School gun incident highlights gaps in policy guiding police on campus” (11/20/18)
Parents of SFUSD students demand a revision to MOU, created with the involvement of much more community input, as a result of the countless rights of students violated in the Balboa High School shooting incident. Charley Obermeyer, SF Youth Commissioner, recommends the expansion of trainings for police in their interactions with youth.
“Prop C, Everyone Deserves an Opportunity” (11/3/18)
Former YC Zak Franet, currently on the Youth Policy Advisory Committee, urges readers to vote “yes” on Prop C to give TAY like him, a second chance to build their lives back up again after being lost into the juvenile incarceration system. Prop C will give sufficient funding to homeless shelters and TAY programs like Larkin Street and more, to support in-need youth.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/prop-c-everyone-deserves-opportunity/
“Youth Rights with the SF Youth Commission!” (3/7/19)
Youth Commissioner, Nora Hylton, and Commission Staffer, Naomi Fierro, take over “Roll Over Easy” with Dani and Nuala to speak about the issues most important to youth and the strength of youth rights.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/city-falling-short-plan-house-homeless-youth-commission-says/
https://bff.fm/broadcasts/17631
“City falling short on plan to house homeless youth, commission says” (2/19/19)
YC presented to BOS Budget and Finance Committee to bring attention to the continuous failure of the Board to complete their 2015 TAY Housing promise of 400 units established for the City’s youth. YC also highlights the need for mandatory police trainings in their interactions with TAY, in partnership with “Frisco CopWatch” and “Strategies for Youth”.
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/city-falling-short-on-plan-to-house-homeless-youth-commission-says/
“SF examines lowering voting age and other methods to boost turnout” (4/21/16)
BOS holding first ever joint YC and Board meeting to decide on whether SF should propose a proposition lowering the local voting age to 16 in the next election. The discussion will also address finding new methods to boost voter turnout and support YC’s “Vote16” campaign.
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/sf-examines-lowering-voting-age-and-other-methods-to-boost-turnout/
“Vote on controversial new jail comes earlier than expected” (11/30/15)
Despite YC director, Adele Carpenter’s insistence on the Board to hold the vote on building the $380 million jail until a “youth-friendly after-school hour”, the Board’s Budget and Finance Committee is scheduled to meet at 10am the following Wednesday. The YC expressed their concerns in a Nov. 23 memo of the Board’s sped-up timeline and the YC’s, therefore, inability to advise the BOS on youth-related decisions.
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/vote-on-controversial-new-jail-comes-earlier-than-expected/
“SF seeks to become first major city to lower voting age to 16” (3/17/15)
Supervisor John Avalos expected to present proposal allowing any person at least 16 years of age to vote on municipal city elections and candidates. Avalos explains how his proposal has been largely based off of a resolution written by teenager and SF Youth Commissioner, Joshua Cardenas, and passed by the SFYC back towards the beginning of the year.
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/sf-seeks-to-become-first-major-city-to-lower-voting-age-to-16/
“Youths seek to lower voting age to 16 in SF” (1/6/15)
SF Youth Commissioner, Joshua Cardenas, was barred from voting in the last city elections due to him turning 18 two weeks after the elections. To combat the city’s voting laws, Cardenas wrote up a resolution urging Mayor Ed Lee and the BOS to support a change in voting age which the YC voted on 14 to 1 in support of Cardenas’ resolution. Supervisors Mar and Avalos quickly expressed their support for the resolution upon hearing it at the BOS meeting.
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/youths-seek-to-lower-voting-age-to-16-in-sf/
“Giving Detainees Access to Outdoor Recreation” (2/25/12)
A group of youth, including former juvenile detainees, have brought the matter of a largely unused recreational park outside of juvenile hall that center officials have forbade detainees from using, to city attention. The YC has drafted up a resolution calling for detainees to get regular access to the space. Youth Commissioners, Angel Carrion and Rene Ontiveros, who have both experienced time in juvenile hall, also question whether youth are being given their privileges of an hour of exercise outside each day, and whether or not youth even know they have this right.
“Sophomore pursues interest in politics on SF Youth Commission” (12/18/17)
Arianna Nasiri, a current Youth Commissioner, has won the “‘Convent & Stuart Hall’s Launch Grant’ with a website prototype dedicated to educating new voters on registration and making smart decisions in voting”. Starting out as a 7th grade intern for Breed, she is now using her experience and influence to spread knowledge about pre-registration for voting throughout her community.
http://broadview.sacredsf.org/12820/features/a-voice-for-youth/
“Worksite spotlight: The SF Youth Commission” (2/18/11)
SF Youthworks recognizes the SFYC for hosting their intern, A. Robertson, and teaching her new skills of taking calls and meeting notes, updating the YC calendar, creating a weekly newsletter, and researching new policies that affect youth. SF Youthworks specifically shouts out Mario Yedidia for serving as a Youthworks mentor over the past two years, and encourages any youth caring about issues affecting youth today to apply for the position.
http://sfyouthworks.org/2011/02/18/worksite-spotlight-the-sf-youth-commission/
“Bay Area political events: Mueller report rallies, sea level rise” (4/4/19)
Upcoming political events in the Bay Area include a forum on the power of young people to effect change called “Youth in Politics”. Panelists include “Nora Hylton, chair of San Francisco Youth Commission’s Transformative Justice Committee; Berkeley City Councilman Rigel Robinson; Lexie Tesch, Berkeley High School student and former chair of the Berkeley Youth Commission; and Scott Warren, author and CEO of Generation Citizen”.
“The Fight for a Free Pass” (2/6/19)
Leah LaCroix, former Youth Commissioner, revisits past campaigns and resolutions the YC developed back in 2014, where she fought for discounted SFMTA passes for youth and money allocated for the campaign. Eventually in 2014, Google donated $6.8 million to the pilot program that made muni passes free for underage youth today. LaCroix would later go on to run for a position on the SF Democratic County Central Committee.
http://www.sfweekly.com/news/the-fight-for-a-free-pass/
“SOMCAN-Do It All” (2/27/19)
The South of Market Community Action Network has organized several community programs and campaigns dedicated to land use and housing, tenants’ rights, youth empowerment, and more. The organization has sent representatives out in several City Hall hearings, Youth Commission meetings, SFMTA workshops, and others all around SF.
http://www.sfweekly.com/topstories/somcan-do-it-all/
“Bay Area political events: Urban Shield, LGBTQ future” (2/26/19)
The San Francisco Youth Commission’s Transformative Justice Committee invites youth 12-24 to join in a “Youth-police roundtable” to be held at the SF Main Library on March 12, 2019.