Long Beach
In the summer of 2018, yli expanded into Long Beach, CA. Since then, we’ve grown into an established youth development hub, engaging young people ages 14-24 through yli’s vetted 4-step youth development model: Leadership, Research, Storytelling, and Campaigns.
- Leadership – We build youth cohorts and coalitions where young people build community and strengthen their public speaking, writing, facilitation, and advocacy skills
- Research – Youth take those skills into the community to conduct research, such as peer-led focus groups, public opinion surveys, interviews, and weigh-ins
- Storytelling – Youth transform their research findings into compelling multimedia storytelling through films, zines, written articles, podcasts, photo essays, and more
- Campaigns – Youth combine data and storytelling to lead campaigns, meeting directly with elected officials, decision-makers, and community leaders to advance policies and solutions that improve conditions for Long Beach youth
Over the last 8 years, yli LB youth leaders have led impactful campaigns advancing health equity across the city, addressing urgent issues such as youth suicide prevention, access to behavioral health resources, climate justice, opioid overdose prevention, affordable housing, LGBTQ+ safety, immigrant rights, and more.
Youth from yli Long Beach also participate in the Invest In Youth Coalition, a citywide network of youth-serving grassroots organizations committed to advancing youth leadership and ensuring equitable investments in youth. The Coalition’s efforts have resulted in the City of Long Beach adapting the Youth and Emerging Adults Strategic Plan, which has resulted in the creation of the Office of Youth Development, and the annual Youth Power Participatory Budgeting process – where youth determine how $550,000 in city funds are allocated to youth programming each year.
Follow us on Instagram: @VoiceWavesLB
Current Programs
Past Programs
Timeline of Wins in Long Beach
7 Youth Leaders Selected for Statewide K-12 Youth Mental Health Fellowship
Seven Los Angeles County youth were selected to participate in yli’s three-year statewide K-12 Youth Mental Health Fellowship, representing Long Beach as part of a statewide campaign. Through this program, … Continued
Youth Produced Climate Justice Short Film Series Spotlighting West Long Beach
Funded by the City of Long Beach Office of Climate Action & Sustainability, the ClimateLB initiative engaged youth ages 14–24 in using yli’s YPAR model to examine environmental inequities in … Continued
yli Youth Led Long Beach’s First City-Funded, Youth-Led Opioid Awareness Campaign
Seven yli VoiceWaves youth leaders successfully completed Long Beach’s first city-funded, youth-led opioid awareness campaign. Over the year-long effort, they conducted peer-led focus groups, launched a social media campaign, produced … Continued
li Takes On Big Tobacco at the State Capitol
Program Manager Mason Lam represented yli during Information & Education (I&E) Days at the State Capitol, organized by the American Heart Association’s Tobacco Endgame Center. Mason met with legislative staff … Continued
yli Celebrates Two-Year Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
yli culminated a two-year youth-led suicide prevention campaign in partnership with the Sierra Health Foundation and the statewide Never a Bother initiative. Eight youth leaders surveyed 120 peers across schools, … Continued
Youth Leader Becerra Murillo Featured on Univisión to Advocate for Mental Health
VoiceWaves youth leader Gisselle Becerra Murillo was featured in an interview with Univisión, using her bilingual skills to share information about the Never a Bother youth mental health campaign with … Continued
yli Long Beach Selected as Grantee to Advance Multilingual Education
yli Long Beach was selected as a subgrantee of Alliance for a Better Community’s Narrative Change Coalition to support youth-led multilingual education. With over 70% of Long Beach youth speaking … Continued
Youth Leaders Decided How $550,000 in City Funds Were Invested in Youth Programming
yli Long Beach served as a core leader of the Invest in Youth Coalition, partnering with Khmer Girls in Action, Long Beach Forward, and Educated Mentors with Meaningful Messages to … Continued
VoiceWaves Tripled Youth Engagement
By spring 2025, VoiceWaves – yli Long Beach’s youth media and storytelling program – had tripled its engagement, directly supporting 35 youth and indirectly reaching an additional 86, for a … Continued
VoiceWaves Publishes Video Explaining the Youth Power Participatory Budgeting Process
VoiceWaves youth participant Yvie Jett (16) produces and publishes a video highlighting the local Youth Power Participatory Budgeting campaign, a process in which local youth are shaping summer youth program … Continued
Youth-Led Zine Published as Part of ClimateLB Youth Initiative
A diverse cohort of VoiceWaves participants published a 16-page zine publication about climate change. The zine, part of the City of Long Beach’s ClimateLB Youth Climate Action Fund Microgrant Program, … Continued
Youth-Led Storytelling for Trans Visibility
Yvie Jett (16), a VoiceWaves youth participant, created her first video project—a recap of the 2024 Trans Pride Long Beach event—where she interviewed trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive community members about … Continued
yli Long Beach Youth Join the Never a Bother Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
yli Long Beach youth participant Gisselle Becerra Murillo (20) publishes a social media post raising awareness about mental health resources and destigmatizing seeking support. This post is the first of … Continued
yli Long Beach Youth Help Launch Third Year of Youth Power Participatory Budgeting
For the third year, yli Long Beach youth rejoin the Invest In Youth Coalition in facilitating a participatory budgeting process where youth help shape summer programming through a multi-step approach. … Continued
VoiceWaves Publishes Article Highlighting Efforts to Address Food Insecurity
VoiceWaves youth participant Vanessa Rodriguez (21) publishes an interview with a local food bank representative raising awareness about the issue of food insecurity, who it affects in Long Beach, and … Continued
LB Wins Youth Climate Action Fund
yli Long Beach is one of eight recipients awarded a $5,000 Youth Climate Action Fund micro-grant, empowering youth to lead climate action through community-based storytelling and printed zines.
Youth from North, West and Washington neighborhoods in Long Beach lead community tours to elevate their lived experiences
Youth Fund winners complete an educational zine to share the experiences of BIPOC, First Gen and LGBTQ+2
yli youth launch CORAL (College, Outreach and Learning) with their Youth Fund grant
Four Long Beach youth win yli’s Youth Fund grant
The winning project was to design and implement their own program advocating for educational equity through direct resources and a multi-media campaign.
yli Long Beach launches My Hood, My City
yli partners with the City of Long Beach Department Health & Human Services and Office of Youth Development to launch a new program, My Hood, My City. It was featured … Continued
Youth publish Health Resources in Long Beach zine
Twenty-five youth in the Miller Foundation Public Health Project distribute 450 copies of the zine throughout the City of Long Beach. Click here to read it!
yli Long Beach launches a flagship Instagram account @yli.lbc
Long Beach community walking tours
Local youth conduct safety assessments of a highly trafficked area of Long Beach, with a focus on accessibility, maintenance and safety for youth that walk, bike or take the bus.
First Long Beach summer program launched
For the first time, the Long Beach office established a summer program for local youth to learn about social justice issues in Long Beach.
VoiceWaves releases new youth-led publication
VoiceWaves publishes and begins to distribute its newest print publication, which collects stories published by our youth reporters throughout the pandemic.
Youth leaders present to Signal Hill City leaders on smoke-free multi-use housing
VoiceWaves launches Compound x VoiceWaves public workshops
VoiceWaves partners with Compound, a local culture and arts center, to host monthly workshops where Youth Reporters share the skills they learn with members of the public.
City of Long Beach receives and accepts youth strategic plan
The Long Beach City Council received a presentation on the 62-page youth strategic plan created by a coalition of local youth.
Youth successfully advocate for a permanent flavored tobacco ban
Long Beach adopts a permanent ban on the sale of most flavored tobacco products ahead of the statewide vote!
Launched Long Beach Youth Leadership Council
Launched a Long Beach youth group during the 2020 Covid pandemic that worked on making the temporary flavored tobacco ban a permanent ban.
VoiceWaves premieres My Brother’s Keeper short documentary
VoiceWaves Youth Reporters share findings of the My Brother’s Keeper youth survey and documentary focused on young people’s experiences with the juvenile justice system.
Youth Leadership Institute Acquires YouthWire
YLI welcomed YouthWire, a cutting edge statewide youth media program, into the organization on October 1, 2018.