SAN DIEGO — Youth from across San Diego gathered together on Saturday to create the county’s first youth master plan. The goal of the plan is to make San Diego a world class region for young people.
Tyler Sepulveda is a policy fellow with Youth Will, helping to organize the voice of those under 25. “I was homeless. I was on social programs and I never felt like my voice was being heard” Sepulveda said. He added, “It was always ‘sit down, shut up your problems don’t matter’ but when I came to San Diego, I realized it is a community where we can speak up about issues.”
The entire idea started over the summer when they put together a youth bill of rights. They said it was not just words on paper, but a blueprint for action to bring reality.
The group declared the changes they want to see in San Diego’s future. Housing, health care, transportation and so forth are some of the things they want to see changed.
The group knows it is easy for policy makers to dismiss them as idealists and impractical, but they are working together to oppose the naysayers. Another attendee, Warsan Artan said, “we recognize nobody can just snap and bring it to reality, so we are taking collective responsibility to do something and starting the process today no matter how long it takes.”