Youth-Centered, Equity-Focused Framework to Close Gap for America’s Young as Nation Heads Toward Post-Pandemic Future 

 May 25, 2021, WASHINGTON, DC – As the nation heads toward recovery from the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, young community leaders will release the New Deal for Youth Policy Platform on Wednesday, May 26, from 4-6pm EST on Facebook and YouTube. The comprehensive policy platform proposes a framework for developing and evaluating public policies according to a set of youth-centered, equity-focused criteria meant to help close the gap that has failed to meet the needs of young adults living in America, pre-and-post COVID-19.  

“The pandemic represents a cascade of compounding crises that have been festering for decades if not centuries. The nation’s inability to grapple with racial tension, economic inequality, and inadequate healthcare systems caused personal and collective tragedies that could have been avoided if only ‘normal’ was a society that deeply valued every human life,” said Brenda V. Perez, a Community Activist and New Deal for Youth Changemaker from Washington, DC. “Unfortunately, ours is not. Young people are inheriting the weakest economy in generations and are the most impacted by climate change, we are also the innovators that are driving radical economic and social change to create a world that is just for all of us and future generations.”   

“Every so often life provides an opportunity to reinvent yourself. I see this moment as the most opportunistic moment to reinvent how our country ensures that youth and young adults are living in the most optimized conditions that help us heal, develop and be positioned to thrive,” said Sixto Cancel, Founder and CEO Think of Us and a New Deal for Youth Changemaker from Washington, DC. “The ideas we’ve put forward are based on engaging those who are closest the problem, those who understand the nuances of inequities and want to see a better ecosystem that helps us all get a step closer to making the American dream our reality.” 

“These are not suggestions or recommendations.  These are demands,” said Nia West-Bey, Director of CLASP’s Youth Team. “The Changemakers are standing in power and solidarity unapologetically calling for the change that their generation deserves.  We are calling on the nation to stand with us, meet the moment, and join the movement.” 

Based on the findings of the Center for Law and Social Policy’s (CLASP) 2020 Youth Data Portrait, public policy has consistently fallen short of meeting the needs of America’s young people. The issues that young people face across a set of key indicators, were then only exacerbated by the pandemic. Following the 2020 election and over the past seven months, these young leaders, the New Deal for Youth Changemakers , have been working collaboratively and with decision makers across the public and philanthropic sectors, to create a workable policy platform, utilizing their personal experiences, community activism, and ideals for greater racial, economic, and social justice.  The New Deal for Youth Policy Platform aims to encourage public policies at the local, state, and federal levels that not only consider the needs of America’s young adults but places them at the center.  

The program details are below:  

WHO: New Deal for Youth Changemakers  
             Special Invited Guests 

WHAT: Will release the New Deal for Youth Policy Platform to ensure young people are not left further behind as the nation recovers from the pandemic. 

WHEN: Wednesday, May 26 at 4 – 6pm EST 

WHERE: Virtually, on Facebook and YouTube. Registration is available at newdealforyouth.org.  

Media are invited to participate in the program. To attend, please email ayofemi@itseleventhirtysix.com.  

The virtual program is open to the public. Registration is available at newdealforyouth.org. 

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About A New Deal for Youth 

A New Deal for Youth is a youth-led, youth-centered effort advocating for the creation of new systems, policies, investments and structures that reimagine life for young people in America. Through defining and advancing a transformational and holistic agenda that addresses the urgent challenges young people are facing due to COVID-19, the economic downturn and structural racism, A New Deal for Youth Changemakers, partners, and allies are developing visionary policy proposals and community solutions that help shape public discourse and that decision-makers at the federal, state, and local levels and in the private sector can implement to address this crisis. Learn more at www.newdealforyouth.org.  

About CLASP and the CLASP Youth Policy Team  

CLASP is a national, nonpartisan, anti-poverty nonprofit advancing policy solutions for people with low incomes. CLASP develops practical yet visionary strategies for reducing poverty, promoting economic opportunity, and advancing racial equity. 

The CLASP Youth Policy team seeks to advance a vision for America co-created with youth and young adults, ages 16-25, that centers safety, healing and well-being, and economic and racial justice. The team advances policy, community strategies, and investments that support economic mobility, community safety, equal access to quality health care and mental health resources, and that dismantle structural barriers preventing youth of color and youth with low incomes from opportunities to transform their lives.