ONS Youth Leadership Council

The ONS Youth Leadership Council (YLC) is an initiative that brings together 65 youth leaders ages 16-22 from 30 NYCHA developments across New York City. Council members are positioned as advocates for safety in their communities through leadership and skill development, research, community engagement, and a series of community projects. Participants partake in a 9-month curriculum that focuses on community learning and understanding, engagement in fieldwork, mobilizing with community leaders, and the engagement of additional youth in their communities. Participants use their experiences, expertise, and research to develop a participatory budgeting campaign that will invest $65k into one of their intervention projects for their communities. We believe that empowering youth to be a part of the decision-making process in their communities has positive effects on both them as individuals and the communities they live in.