Our community’s culture is being erased as our friends and neighbors are displaced. This is what gentrification looks like. We must act now before it’s too late. From murals and mariachis to the Chicano Moratorium and student walkouts, the Eastside has a rich history central to LA’s heritage – a culture of resilience and resistance that endures every day. We will not allow our diversity and character to disappear in the name of development.

The Invest in Youth Coalition is advocating for a Youth Development Department for the City of Los Angeles. The youth of Los Angeles deserves a positive Youth Development Department because we are the NOW and HOW we heal our communities. We recognize that our experience is power and are ready to activate our generations to positively impact and create the world we want to live in. An establishment of a Youth Development Department would empower youth to embrace our cultures and holistically connect with our passions with full support of the city we live within. 

Psyches of Color is a progressive nonprofit organization that uses strength-based and culturally relevant approaches to provide mental health education, family support, empowerment, and mentoring to decrease the stigma of mental health and promote radical healing to Black and Latinx adolescents and young adults.