Long Beach: My Hood, My City to Return for Second Year
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Long Beach, CA ~ The City of Long Beach, in partnership with Youth Leadership Institute (YLI), is hosting a new series of youth-led neighborhood tours this summer. My Hood, My City is a program that engages youth through civic education and leadership development by way of neighborhood storytelling.

Mayor Rex Richardson said, "Long Beach is a city of neighborhoods, and who better to tell the story of our neighborhoods than the young people living there? This program helps youth become champions of their city and agents of change, while giving community members the opportunity to gain young peoples' perspective of their neighborhoods."

My Hood, My City is open to Long Beach youth ages 14 to 24 who live in North Long Beach, the Westside and the Washington neighborhood—all neighborhoods that experience disproportionate amounts of violence and poverty, and where historic redlining practices have left out the story behind these neighborhoods and the resilient youth and families who live in them. The program will engage up to 30 young people, who will cultivate a media project highlighting the beauty and struggle of their neighborhoods through photography, writing and interviews with neighborhood leaders. The deadline to submit an application is June 19th.

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The youth will meet weekly throughout the summer culminating with youth-led community tours in August. Along with the tours, participants will display their media projects at local businesses and libraries. These media projects will also be shared on the City's website as well as YLI's website, social media channels, newsletters, Long Beach TV and more.

Health and Human Services Director Kelly Collopy said "Last year youth from each neighborhood had a chance to take control of their own narratives. My Hood, My City shows people the breadth and diversity of our neighborhoods and shines a spotlight on the resilience of our communities."

The program's inaugural session last summer saw 28 participating Long Beach youth lead a series of in-person neighborhood tours showcasing digital photography that told the story of their neighborhoods which can be found on the Long Beach Recovery Act Dashboard. This year's program has an opportunity for participants to collaborate with My Block, My Hood, My City participants in Chicago.

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The City's Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) Office of Youth Development has partnered with YLI to manage this program which aligns with Goal 4 from Youth & Emerging Adults Strategic Plan & Goal 2 from Race & Reconciliation Initiative in Long Beach which focuses on Community Care priorities & design/investment in community safety/violence prevention respectively. This program is made possible by Long Beach Recovery Act which funds economic & public health initiatives for those critically impacted by COVID-19 pandemic & additional information can be found at longbeach.gov/recovery . Prospective participants can email eharris@yli.org or comar@yli.org with questions regarding application instructions & eligibility requirements as space is limited & applications are accepted on first-come first-serve basis .

This summer's edition of My Hood ,My City promises to be an exciting one as it gives young people an opportunity to take control over their own narratives while giving community members insight into different perspectives about their respective neighbourhoods .

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