Students, Advocates Ask Council to Fully Fund $10M "Varsity" Youth Safety Plan

Scores of youth speakers and community organizers asked the Metropolitan Council to fully fund the "Varsity" youth-safety plan, a $10 million proposal assembled by young people and community groups that centers prevention, restorative justice and a municipally supported Office of Youth Safety.

Youth representatives and groups including the Southern Movement Committee outlined the plan’s components: $4 million to expand community-center programming and safe spaces; $4 million to establish and staff an Office of Youth Safety focused on prevention and alternatives to policing; and $2 million to pilot restorative-justice programs in high schools. Speakers said the package is designed to reduce gun violence by strengthening community-based supports, expanding after-school and summer programming, and providing conflict resolution and mental-health resources.

Students who described personal or district-level experiences with shootings told councilmembers the allocation would help prevent future violence and provide alternatives for students who otherwise risk criminalization. Organizers asked the council to move from pilot funding to a sustained commitment — describing last year’s $1 million allocation as a first step — and they asked for a larger budget line to implement the full vision.

Council members acknowledged the group’s sustained organizing, and some members indicated support for continued consideration during budget work sessions. No final appropriation was adopted at this meeting; organizers said they will return during the substitute-budge process and committee hearings.