Long Beach
Since expanding into Southern California in the summer of 2018, Youth Leadership Institute has become home to three dynamic programs in Long Beach: Voicewaves, Youth Suicide Prevention Program and Youth Community Advocates. These initiatives engage youth in storytelling, advocacy, and campaign work while fostering a safe space for community building, mentorship with adult allies, and professional and leadership development opportunities.
Youth from yli Long Beach also participate in the Invest In Youth Coalition, a collaboration of youth-serving organizations that uses leadership development and advocacy to advocate for a more equitable Long Beach for 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 that has helped move public funding to youth programs.
Follow us on Instagram: @voicewaveslb
Current Programs
Past Programs
Timeline of Wins in Long Beach
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.