Youth Voice SD | Civic Engagement, Leadership, & Advocacy

Youth Voice San Diego was founded October 16, 2008 by Dana Brown in partnership with the Juvenile Services Team of the Mid-City Police Division. With the unwavering support of (then) Captain Lawrence McKinney, Youth Voice flourished by supporting the building of trusted relationships with inner-city youth and law enforcement officers. In 2017, Youth Voice became a standing Youth Leadership committee with the City of San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention & Intervention as Dana was a Commissioner for eleven years. When her tenure ended, Youth Voice became a program with Community Wraparound. Youth Voice aims to create safer communities by educating and empowering youth to realize their potential and become solution-oriented activists. This unique and innovative initiative helps youth recognize their innate gifts, collaborate with peers, engage in community service, advocate for their community, develop public speaking skills, and develop the leadership abilities to partner with community groups and law enforcement agencies.

Youth Voice has been invited on multiple occasions to present on Positive & Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs) Science (trauma's impact on the brain neurologically, body biologically, toxic stress, epigenetics, and resilience building) before multi-national organizations, local community groups, law enforcement personnel, and elected representatives.

Providing our youth with leadership opportunities helps them grow into responsible and engaged members of their community. By giving them the chance to develop effective life skills—skills that allow them to manage time, work as a team, set goals, solve problems, facilitate meetings, defend positions, and make effective presentations—we ensure a successful trajectory where they can lead their peers through various systemic issues.