Response to YIA article

 A World Where Youth Hold the Power talks about the Youth in Action (YIA) program. This youth based organization is in Providence and has been around since 1997. YIA is truly unique by having the youth actually control majority of the decisions that are made. They are responsible from the simplest of tasks, which could be choosing paint, to hiring staff or creating budgets. They believe youth are the best problem solvers and power behind social change. Youth has the power to be able to voice opinions and be able to fix issues they see within their communities. The article explains how youth have a new dynamic community filled with knowledge, power, policy, and practice.

My experience when I was young was different then the people who are involved in YIA. I was fortunate enough to have teachers that always supported and encouraged students. They encouraged us to speak our mind, and always offered that extra support for reaching our goals. While reading the personal stories and moments, it really shows the organizations strengths.  Bukky Olugbemi in her moment mentions “there is power in numbers when youth use their voices together”.  I found this to be very powerful. Communities need to give more opportunities to Youth to be able to speak their mind in order to show their true potential. Youth are never given the proper credit or acknowledgement they deserve.