Amid a torrent of challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing racism and an uptick in violence in communities across Multnomah County — something else far more hopeful was unfolding behind the scenes of the County this year.
Eight young people of color with Multnomah County’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB), ranging from 12 to 19 years old, were hard at work on ways to address those very crises affecting their communities.
The Youth Advisory Board has been in place since 2019, and focuses on supporting the upstream violence prevention efforts of the Community and Adolescent Health Program, which is a part of Multnomah County’s Public Health Division’s Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion department.
Since January, between virtual school, Zoom meetings, busy schedules and general changes to everyday life because of COVID-19, the Youth Advisory Board met at least twice a month to discuss how they could make an impact.
As the year progressed, those meetings happened even more often to plan and prepare a project that could reflect the experiences of people from Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other communities of color — and that resonates with everyone who views it.
“We were learning about CPTED [Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design] projects,” said 14-year-old Victorina Tchivandja, a YAB member and soon-to-be Grant High School student. “And we were thinking of something we could do incorporating those principles. Someone suggested a video that we could show to people and that idea really stuck.”
The YAB decided to create a video that could encompass and highlight the lived experiences of community members of color. A video, they hoped, could also help serve younger generations, by educating them about the impacts of racism, and at least spark a conversation among people of all ages.
“Before 2020, it seemed like racism was a touchy issue," said Tchivandja. "Just talking about it in school, even talking about Black History Month, was sensitive,” ... “But I want young Black girls, like me, to pursue their dreams and do what they want to do because I know they can.”
The YAB found guidance from Multnomah County staff and an AmeriCorps VISTA project member. They began seeking professional production companies to help make their vision a reality. It was the youths themselves who decided whom to interview for their project.
“They were the ones coming up with the interview questions,” said Sara Graber, the AmeriCorps VISTA project coordinator.
“This was really 90 percent youth led with the planning,” Quete Capuia, Community and Adolescent Health Program Coordinator. “We just guided them and helped them along, but this was really them taking up the mantle.”
Grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called Realizing and Advancing Collective Equity in Violence Prevention Efforts for Young Men and Boys of Color (RACE-VIP) helped bring Gatling Studios, a local, Black-owned production company, on board to not only assist in production, but also to teach the youth skills about producing, editing and scheduling.
One day in July, on the roof of the County’s McCoy Building, they interviewed five community members.
While planning and shooting, the team simultaneously organized a youth summit to show the work that was unfolding through the video project, while also bringing together other community organizations and partners with the RACE-VIP project.
The Beyond Racism virtual youth summit, held Saturday, Aug. 14, featured 13 guest speakers, including Dr. Aileen Duldulao, a research epidemiologist with the Multnomah County Health Department, and Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia, who presented on exploring the intersections of fear, trauma and racism.
The event included poetry readings by youth from I Am M.O.R.E. (Making Ourselves Resilient Every day), a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering and developing youth.
Twelve-year-old Jehiel McCoy emceed the event. Tchivandja presented on mental health and wellness for youth.
“I decided that since we’re talking about racism as a public health crisis, mental health and physical health are a part of that,” said Tchivandja. “Physical health affects mental health. If you have an injury or chronic condition, you aren’t able to do as many things. It’s stressful and can develop into mental health problems.
“How can this be improved or maintained? Staying healthy, exercising, taking care of yourself.”
Youth Advisory Board members led a discussion based on their video. Some participants shared that this was not something they really talked about, but some of the youth shared that in their generation, it’s becoming more important to discuss openly.
“It’s been really inspiring to see the consistency of youth who keep showing up despite their virtual environment,” said Graber.
“I think it was really amazing to see youth still having this sense of community — that they were coming to these meetings and wanting to be part of raising conversation and dialogue about what they see going on in the world.”