Youth commission seeks applicants for three vacant seats; staff, Safe and Sound plan outreach

Staff and Safe and Sound representatives reported active recruitment efforts for vacant youth commission seats and discussed outreach strategies.

Safe and Sound staff said they have been tabling at schools and engaging youth but that many students do not know what the youth commission does. Deneen (staff with Safe and Sound) said she visited her former school during finals and tabled at lunch periods to encourage applications. Staff reported one application for the 16th District and one for the 6th District; commissioners and staff said Districts 6, 14 and 16 remain listed as vacant.

Commissioners and staff suggested multiple recruitment tactics: a press conference modeled on a prior successful MPS event (mentioned as having produced a notable number of applications), short social-media videos (15-second spots recorded by commissioners), boots-on-the-ground tabling at events such as Juneteenth, and partnering with other youth commissions and county supervisors to expand outreach. Adult adviser Dion recommended coordinating with other local youth commissions and building pipelines with city- and county-level youth groups.

Several county supervisors and board members were named as potential partners who have expressed interest in collaborating on recruitment: Supervisor Rollin, Supervisor Taylor and Supervisor Kaz Jones were mentioned as having shown support. Staff also noted outreach at upcoming community events and expressed that having youth commissioners attend recruitment activities is especially effective for persuading peers to apply.

No formal appointments were made at the meeting; staff said applications are trickling in and that further outreach will continue.