Youth

Power

Project

The Youth Power Project (YPP) is a youth-led program that engages young Nevadans in their community, local grassroots organizing, policy innovation, and financial literacy education.

Our Values

We at the Youth Power Project value social and economic justice, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights, youth leadership and empowerment, and dismantling the school-to-prison and school-to-deportation pipeline

Our vision for Nevada begins with building a strong grassroots foundation in Las Vegas and it ends with elevating the power of working class immigrant communities in every community around the state.

We do this by informing, empowering, and mobilizing our community to take action on important issues that directly affect their families and loved ones.

Taking Action

We turn these values into action through engaging in the electoral process, get-out-the-vote campaigns, bill drafts, legislative engagements, and increasing our knowledge and skills necessary for everyday—such as financial literacy, healthy lifestyles and relationships, and communication.

Our Goals

Since our beginning, we have set and met goals, but here are some we are still working—and need your help—to achieve.

  • Dismantle Clark County School District’s (CCSD) school-to-prison and school-to-deportation pipeline.
  • Organize with youth across Nevada to build a statewide coalition, partnering youth-led program and placing young people on boards, commissions, and committees to ensure their voices are heard at all political levels.
  • Engage state legislators to pass legislation that would mandate multicultural instruction in all 17 counties. We believe by enacting a multicultural education curriculum, we can help end the erasure of BIPOC communities in our schools and begin to value their contributions.

 

Our Achievements

Though there is a lot left to be done, we’ve accomplished so much since our beginning. Below are a few of the awesome things our members have done:

  • Members of the YPP were proud to support AB261 during the 2021 Legislative Session. This bill, now signed into law, requires purchased textbooks to be used in public schools meet diversity and inclusion standards, including the addition of more people of color  contributions and the real history of segregation and racism in our state and nation.
  • Between November 2020 and January 2021, YPP fielded 138 in-depth surveys with young people. The survey was designed to see student’s experiences, interactions, and feelings about police and security at school. The survey found police and security didn’t make students feel safe, students often have harmful sightings and interactions with police and security, and students favor additional resource over increasing police and security funding. For additional information, view our report here.
  • We launched an educational justice campaign; this has resulted in standing meetings with the Superintendent of Clark County—the fifth largest school district in America.
  • Our members have completed over 1,000 volunteer hours toward our program.
  • We grew our membership base to over 1,200 youth. 70 members regularly participate in our weekly meetings and actions.

Join us!

For more information, please email our Youth Justice Organizer, Kathia Sotelo-Calderon at kathia.sotelo@maketheroadnv.org.

Join Our Family!