On Tuesday, May 24th Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) hosted the 2nd Annual “Community According to Youth Summit” at Fresno Pacific University. Over 120 youth, adults, community organizations, and community members were in attendance.
In the last six years, YLI has worked to reduce youth access to alcohol, the saturation of alcohol messages and underage drinking throughout Fresno County. Over the last year, youth involved with YLI's Friday Night Live chapters have led campaigns targeting underage drinking and distracted driving and have organized efforts to increase access to healthy food at their schools, Likewise, youth working with the The California Endowment's Building Healthy Communities initiative have been actively advocating for policy change and overall youth engagement in creating thriving communities. Youth-produced public service announcements developed for the “X the Text” campaign were showcased at the event to bring awareness to the dangers of distracted driving. At the event youth also launched the “Share the Truth Campaign” targeting youth, parents, adults and the community on local underage drinking issues.
