As an intermediary in Washington, mobilizing, convening, and advocating to fund the youth development field were fundamental objectives in 2023. Upon hiring our strategy and partnerships director, Fahren Johnson, she restructured the Youth Development Strategy Table (YDST), and SOWA became the formal backbone for the coalition. Fahren also focused on uplifting the coalition voices. The YDST, a coalition of public, nonprofit, and community stakeholders, now had an organized leadership team.
“We now have a co-chair model, and it really pulls from the depth of knowledge of the field,” said Fahren. “I think this will be strategic and key to keeping diverse voices in leadership.”
During the 2023 legislative session, the coalition pushed Senate Bill 5601 to create a youth development office and grant program and House Bill 1386 to create a youth development grant program. Both bills passed in their initial committees but stalled in budgeting committees.
“Those bills didn’t pass, but they didn’t die,” said Fahren. “We built momentum, we started building awareness, and I don’t know if we have ever done that.”
Parallel to building awareness and momentum in the legislative arena in 2023, Fahren also envisioned codesigning a strategy with young people. While this goal hasn’t fully come to fruition, Fahren worked with young people in Pierce County to talk about their needs and the value in supporting youth development. Riya, Boys & Girls Club of South Puget Sound 2024 Youth of the Year, has worked with Fahren for years and supported Youth Advocacy Day last year.
“It’s really important to have youth voicing their opinions,” said Riya. “My role in this advocacy space is to take my peers’ thoughts and to elevate them to the level of people who are able to make that greater impact on the state level, city level, and implement change to the best of my ability because I want [youth] to have an enjoyable program.”
Young people are dedicated to influencing legislation in ways that support their overall well-being, success, and growth. Fahren said SOWA must “show legislators that young people and those who support them are in this together. We’re here as a force, right? Young people walking alongside, co-designing with their caring adult, and talking about the things that need to show up to help young people journey, to help them become, to help them determine what success looks like for them, but to also equip them and bring awareness.”
Chloe, a young person deeply involved in policy and advocacy, said finding Fahren was instrumental in f inding her passion. “I always think about my time with Seeds of Peace as something that I got very lucky with,” said Chloe. She said it would be great “if SOWA had the ability for students to make those [kinds of] connections with adults to involve youth more directly.”
This story was originally posted in our 2023 Annual Report.
Read the full report here.