Youth Organizing Program

This summer, Let Us Rise launched a Youth Organizing Program in Southwest Denver’s Westwood Neighborhood.  We hired four young Westwood area residents who demonstrated leadership in their community as well as a strong desire to take their leadership to the next level.

We began this program by providing trainings in facilitation, organizing, canvassing, anti-oppression, and more.  Once trained, the youth organizers were tasked with opening a dialogue in their own community about issues, needs, and community visions for the future.  After a week of door-to-door conversations with residents, the youth decided to work on an issue that affected their community as a whole, as well as their own lives, the lives of their friends and the lives of their families.

Because of the police harassment they have experienced and because of the stories shared with them by community members, they chose to start an immigration-based “Know Your Rights” project to educate their neighbors, families, and friends.  Our Youth Organizing Program works across several communities. The geographic communities include the Westwood, Barnum West, Barnum, Valverde, Athmar Park, Ruby Hill, and Mar Lee neighborhoods.  This area of Southwest Denver is a historically low income area, with a large immigrant population.  Communities we are working with in this area include youth, adults, immigrants and allies.  To our knowledge, this is the only local project that is working with youth on immigration issues utilizing a neighborhood organizing model.

The Let Us Rise Organizers have invested an enormous amount of time and energy into developing their organizing skills.  We plan to continue this program so that these remarkable young organizers can further develop their leadership skills while building organizing capacity in the Westwood area.  Our Youth Organizing Program represents a unique approach that facilitates substantial leadership by placing young people in a position to determine the nature and direction of their organizing efforts inside of their own community.

Recently, the Organiziers have created a name for their own program.  Warriors Organizing and Rising in Denver (WORD) will continue doing Know Your Rights work and will continue to organize in their own communities.  Please support this important work today!

http://www.letusrise.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=1

Also, please take a look at the letter WORD Organizers wrote to the community:

http://www.letusrise.org/en/news/hello-let-us-rise-youth-organizers