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Council adopts biannual youth well‑being report and recognizes four youth liaisons
Summary
Council accepted the 2024–25 State of Child and Youth Well‑Being report and received presentations from four youth liaisons who took part in the project. The report highlights strengths, gaps and five opportunities for action and recommends increased youth engagement and supports for mental health, childcare and accessible programming.
The City Council accepted the 2024–25 State of Child and Youth Well‑Being report and recognized four city youth liaisons for their work on the report and community engagement.
What the report does The report, prepared with staff and consultant support, summarizes community data, surveys and a youth‑focused town hall. It identifies strengths and promising trends (for example, expanded liaison participation and youth outreach) and challenges including childcare availability and mental health needs among young people. The staff summary emphasized that the report is intended to be an ongoing tool to inform budgeting and policy decisions.
Youth presentation Vice Mayor Kalantari Johnson introduced four youth liaisons who co‑designed engagement and helped write the report: Sammy Lambert, Alan Lee, Ben Somerville and Scarlett Folger. Sammy Lambert told council, “I do recommend the council consider formalizing youth involvement in the making of general youth population” and described the group’s work on recreation and teen‑center priorities. Scarlett Folger summarized a school‑based awareness week on sexual assault prevention she helped pilot and asked the city to expand youth liaison participation in city commissions where appropriate.
Council action and next steps The council voted unanimously to accept the staff report and the recommendations. Council directed staff to incorporate the report findings into budget and policy planning and to continue the youth liaison program. Council members asked for additional data sources and suggested integrating youth input into major planning items where appropriate.
Ending Council presented certificates of appreciation to the youth liaisons and urged continued youth engagement as the city integrates the report’s findings into future budgets and programs.
