To me, El Nido is a pretty cool place to live, even though it is super small and unknown by many people. It continues to be funny to me that people don’t know El Nido exists, because our school actually gets involved with the more known schools in Merced, though sporting and other events. Hopefully people will become more aware that this place they’re always driving by, with a few houses and a lot of farmland, is actually El Nido!
Nearly 100 people gathered at Tenaya Middle School on the evening of October 22nd for a city council candidate forum. The youth-led forum, which was hosted by local organizations We’Ced Youth Media and Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Merced, was the first of its kind in this city.
I think it’s important for the family members and friends of young people to understand that being exposed to the party scene -- and the drugs and alcohol that come along with that -- is not an uncommon experience for youth, especially in a town like Merced.
We'Ced Youth Media spent the summer conducting weekly writing circles with over two dozen pre-teens at Merced's Boys and Girls Club's Summer Camp. For over six weeks the writing circles practiced writing, built relationships and explored identity. As a capstone to the experience, during the last circle the B&GC youth shared of themselves through a poetic writing exercise entitled "I Am From" to create these writing pieces to share with their communities.
Photo: washingtonydcby We’Ced Youth MediaEditor’s Note: As the Merced City Council deliberates on the budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year, Building Healthy Communities has joined forces with community partners to advocate for the prioritization of youth as demonstrated by city funds.Read More
The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. But not all youth want to wait to be effective leaders. And addressing major Valley issues, like graduation rates, drugs and alcohol, safe streets and healthy communities, is a big responsibility. Meet the youth leaders who are succeeding in their goals to make their current community a thriving place for their future.
Dr. Davis began her talk with a startling anecdote: In 1986 the Central Valley only had one doctor that accepted women with Medi-Cal. There was a perception that Medi-Cal patients were sicker or more of a hassle to handle as a patient. Around 1995 is when the perception began to shift. More monetary incentives, or funding, were being provided for Medi-Cal and data was gathered showing that families on Medi-Cal weren’t “sicker” than other families.
“One of the first public activities that I ever got involved in was when I went out and collected signatures with a lot of other folks in this community to get J St. renamed to MLK Jr. Way,” says Assemblyman Adam Gray. “That experience was shared with Charlie Huddleston, who literally walked with me from house to house collecting signatures. So coming to this celebration every year is special for me in that personal way.”
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