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Menlo Park spotlights youth poets, Youth Advisory Committee and proclaims Mental Health and Affordable Housing months
Summary
The council opened with a Youth Poetry Voices reading and a Youth Advisory Committee presentation showcasing volunteer work and priorities. Council adopted proclamations recognizing Mental Health Month and Affordable Housing Month and promoted local events including a Housing and Neighborhood Resource Fair.
Menlo Park’s May 12 meeting opened with a Youth Poetry Voices celebration and a presentation by the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), followed by proclamations recognizing Mental Health Month and Affordable Housing Month.
Library and Community Services Supervisor Rose Waldman introduced the Youth Poetry Voices celebration; several student poets read original work. The Youth Advisory Committee detailed its 2025–26 work plan—biweekly meetings, volunteer requirements, a project focused on bridging the intergenerational gap, and partnerships with commissions such as the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC). YAC members described volunteering at city events (Halloween Hoopla, Photos with Santa, Spring Festival) and proposed youth-focused outreach such as social media promotion of library services, study-room ideas and sustainability projects including a proposed “Solarpunk” community art initiative.
Council adopted proclamations for Mental Health Month, noting community resources and an open-mic event on May 27 at Café Zoe, and for Affordable Housing Month, highlighting the city’s anti-displacement and housing resources and promoting a Housing and Neighborhood Resource Fair on May 16 at the Belhaven Community Campus. Housing Manager Tim Wong accepted the Affordable Housing proclamation and invited the public to the resource fair.
There were no substantive public comments on the presentations or proclamations at the time they were called.
