This summer our Urban Scholars interviewed more than 100 teens and young adults in Minneapolis to find out how they felt about community safety. This work is a part of our Child Friendly Cities Initiative that we're doing with UNICEF USA. They took the data from the interviews, analyzed it, and wrote a report. On September 18, our Urban Scholars went out into the community to present on some of their findings. Thank you, Urban Scholars, for your amazing work and making our city safer!

The Urban Scholars provided a handout at their presentation so that listeners could have some additional information. A PDF version of that handout can be downloaded below. 

The YCB is teaming up with the State of Minnesota to collect Minnesota stories so the State can shape their policies to better serve you and meet your needs. We want to make sure our network's voice is heard, so we'll be sending out a couple of reminders via our communications channels. Please feel free to share this with your network because everyone's input matters. You can download the State's flyer and FAQ as a PDF below.

Start your story submission by clicking HERE.

This work is made possible using federal funding, 93.434 -ESSA Preschool Development Grants Birth through Five. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Child Care, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Learn more on Minnesota’s Preschool Development Grant web page. https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/early/preschgr

For the second year in a row we hosted a big lunch for Ukrainian youth visiting Minnesota. Gisell Ayala & Marc Woods of the Minneapolis Youth Congress spoke about the importance of youth engagement in public decision making. Thanks to our young friends for visiting and sharing some time with us!

On August 23, 2023, the YCB and Minneapolis Health Department presented in from of the Public Health & Safety Committee. We wanted to help the Minneapolis City Council understand what we are working on and what youth are saying around the city. You can watch our portion of the meeting at the 5:00 minute mark. 

Do you have an open job that you want to fill with the best possible candidate? One of the roles of the Minneapolis Afterschool Network is to ensure the youth work field of Minneapolis remains healthy by promoting professional development opportunities and by making sure we're all aware of important open youth work positions. We're here to help spread news about your open positions! We've now made it easier than ever with a short form that will guide you through the essential information we need. Now there is no need to contact us to have a back-and-forth! Find our new form HERE and we'll have your information in our next newsletter and social media soon. Thank you!  

In late July at the North Regional Library, our Outreach Team worked with the Minneapolis Health Department to facilitate a training. This training helped participants develop a collective orientation towards youth development, youth outreach, and youth culture. Facilitators provided tools to assist participants in fostering positive connections with youth. We thank everyone involved and for their continued work! 

On August 17, 2023, the Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution to honor the brilliance and work of the Urban Scholars. We had 3 incredible and talented Urban Scholars work with us this summer. Their work helped us understand safety issues in Minneapolis and helped us elevate youth leadership and voice. We cannot thank our young visionaries enough! Click HERE for the full resolution.