Eureka hosts youth visioning events, community partners invited to participate

The Humboldt County Transition Age Youth Collaboration and the Youth Advocacy Board will bring youth, service providers and community collaborators together at the TAY Center, 433 M Street in Eureka, with two visioning sessions planned for early December. The first session is scheduled for Dec. 2 from 4 to 6 p.m. and is reserved for young people ages 16 to 26. The second session for community partners and collaborators is scheduled for Dec. 3 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Organizers say the events are designed to collect feedback and ideas that will inform HCTAYC and YAB priorities, including advocacy strategies and partnership building. Young people who attend the Dec. 2 session will receive a gift card, a chance to win raffle prizes and a meal. Community partners who attend the Dec. 3 session will be offered light refreshments and a chance to win raffle prizes.

HCTAYC is a youth advocacy and leadership development organization dedicated to empowering young people with lived experience to transform foster care, juvenile justice, mental health and homelessness services systems. The collaborative sees these sessions as an opportunity to strengthen ties between young people and the agencies that serve them, and to surface practical ideas for improving access to care and supports at a local level.

HCTAYC Youth Organizer Rosemary Shultz said, “This event is to reach as many transition-age youth as possible to share, envision and create action items to benefit youth health and wellbeing in our community and help shape HCTAYC’s programming.” Her comment underscores the event focus on youth led input, and the role of lived experience in shaping programs that better meet local needs.

The meetings carry public health implications because transition age youth face elevated rates of mental health conditions, housing instability and involvement with multiple service systems. When young people affected by these issues have a voice in planning and advocacy, county agencies can better target prevention and treatment resources, reduce service gaps and address inequities that disproportionately affect marginalized youth.

For Humboldt County residents, the sessions offer a chance to influence local policy and service delivery. Input gathered through these meetings may feed into county planning, inform advocacy campaigns, and guide collaborative efforts among health, housing, and justice system partners. Strengthening these partnerships can improve coordination of care, reduce duplication of services and center equity in how programs are designed and funded.

Young people ages 16 to 26 can RSVP for the Dec. 2 event through the County RSVP link on the Humboldt County website. Community organizers and collaborators can RSVP for the Dec. 3 session via the same County RSVP link. More information about HCTAYC is available at humboldtgov.org/HCTAYC.