The Issues

The ability to live safely in one’s community is one of the most basic elements of a dignified life, and yet one that is denied to too many young people. Across the United States, young people – particularly young women, young people of color, immigrant youth, and LGBTQIA+ youth – are faced with active threats to their safety: sexual violence, discriminatory policing, immigration enforcement, and environmental degradation are daily and persistent threats in young people’s lives. To ensure the safety of young women, young people of color, immigrant youth, and LGBTQIA+ youth, we must address issues of persistent criminalization and the looming climate catastrophe.