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Alyssa Castro, 20
I am in support of the asks being presented to City Council by the community. I believe the City Council should invest 3% of the discretionary funds towards youth services. The council should also consider a youth commission. I believe a youth commission would help bridge the generational gap between council members and the youth of Merced.
45% of Merced is under the age of 25, that’s almost half of the population that has been going unnoticed. The city budget has close to zero dollars allocated to youth services. As a young person, it’s very discouraging to see my leaders put not commitment to opportunities for my generation.
Diego Sandoval, 18
In my eyes Merced’s youth needs 3% of the city’s discretionary fund. We need avenues to do what we enjoy doing through sports, spots to hang out and other things to keep our minds off substance abuse, parties and shootings. We, the youth, are crying for help here and everyone is just shutting the door in our faces.
It feels like we’re raising ourselves and in order to improve Merced, we need to improve our youth. Make a smart choice! Invest in our youth, prove us wrong and let us know and feel that we are not alone.
Jesus Perez, 18
13.6% of Merced’s youth are considered “disconnected,” according to a recent study in 2012. That means more than one out of every ten young adults do not have a job or go to school. While that may not seem like a large amount, 45% of Merced’s population is under the age of 25. Taking that into account, the number of young adults in a disconnected state is a considerable amount.
Over the past few years, the percentage of discretionary funds that is given to youth services has kept on falling. It is more than reasonable to assume that there is a link between the growing number of disconnected youth and the decreasing fund for the youth. The funding that goes to our youth helps teens stay off the streets and puts them in a classroom, gaining new skills, or in a workplace, getting job experience. It is things like these that make the young adults feel like they have a purpose. This is the feeling that the disconnected youth lack.
We are here today, to ask that 3% of Merced’s discretionary funds be set apart for youth
services. Now that 3% would exclude any salaries. If not done so, then that would certainly reduce the amount of money that was supposed to go to our youth. We also ask for the creation of a youth council, to take part in and assist the meetings and decisions of Merced’s council members. These youth would play an important part in deciding how to spend their 3% of the budget. One would ask a mother what a baby needs, not the baby’s 4 year-old sibling. This is why we need the youth council, because who knows better what the youth need, than the youth themselves.
The amount of discretionary funds given to youth services is near 0 percent. Merced has turned its back on our youth, on our future. We can sit here and let this problem continue to happen, or we can stand up and do something about it.
Fernando Almaraz, 17
After seeing the statistics done in 2012, with 13.6% of Merced’s youth being classified
into this so called ”disconnected” area, meaning youth with no jobs and no school, and 45% of youth being under 25, I hereby ask the city council of Merced to provide a permanent 3% discretionary fund, excluding salaries, to youth services. Many would complain that youth is the main problem in the streets, and there is no better solution to get them out of the streets than to get them involved. By establishing this 3% of the discretionary funds, Merced would not only be investing in the next generations but as well as in the community itself. I also ask for the establishment of a youth commission to the city council. There is no better way to find out what is happening with youth, than youth ourselves. The youth commission would advocate for youth programs as well as give advice to the city council about the creation or funding of programs that will help keep youth entertain in a productive manner rather than be out in the streets causing problems. Merced was once a prosperous city, full of life and activities. It is time for the youth voice to be heard and it is time to take action. Let’s create programs to connect youth to the city by giving them job experience and make them feel like they have a purpose.
