Voting = Justice

Young people have a tradition of stepping up and making a difference. They also vote less than any other age group in our country because they aren’t guided or encouraged to do so. And when elected officials don’t hear youth voices at the polls, they’re less likely to focus on their interests and needs.

The potential to increase the youth vote is huge. And because our work in the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success is all about empowering young people to succeed and thrive, we’re committed to turning out as many young people as possible at the polls on November 3. So in September, we partnered with the Baltimore City Youth Commission to launch a youth-driven BHEARD BMORE campaign to urge every eligible Baltimore resident to register to vote AND to vote in the 2020 election.

Read more here and follow the campaign @bmorechildren

October is Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM), a dedicated time to focus on and fight to change the inequities in, and dangerous effects of, the criminal justice system for young people. Because elected officials shape the policies that determine access to resources and opportunities for our young people, including alternatives to criminal justice, our YJAM 2020 focus in Baltimore is two-pronged:

• we are taking a close-up look at youth diversion
• we are working hard to make sure all young people register and vote—because voting is the first step toward making youth justice happen!

Our goal: To put a spotlight on Baltimore’s youth justice landscape, the importance of and process for voting and ways to advocate for youth justice during and beyond Youth Justice Action Month.

Mark Your Calendars

In October 2019, Mayor Young launched the Baltimore Children’s Cabinet to align the city’s collective youth-serving efforts to seven priorities, one of them being youth diversion. This month the cabinet’s youth diversion workgroup is partnering with our office to mark YJAM with a couple events hope you’ll join:

• Monday, October 19: A free online screening of John Lewis: Good Trouble, followed by discussion about how Baltimore can make “good trouble, necessary trouble” leading up to November 3
• Thursday, October 29: Youth Justice Town Hall featuring panel discussions with youth justice leaders and advocates, and young people who will share, first-hand, what youth justice looks like in Baltimore

In recent months, the workgroups representing the seven priorities of the Baltimore Children’s Cabinet have met virtually to share community resources and best practices to determine how to improve outcomes for children and youth in each of their priority areas. The workgroups developed action plans and now they need to hear from you. Between now and Sunday, November 8, please take a few minutes to complete one or all of the brief surveys on the action plans for advancing each of the cabinet’s priorities. Find more details and the survey links here.