Youth Leaders, Community Action Model

  • Stipend/Gift Card
  • School Credit
  • Community Service/Volunteer Hours
  • Authorship on Publications/Letters to the Editor
  • Transportation Reimbursement
  • Grant/Scholarship

Want to make a real impact in your community? Passionate about public health and equity? Want to earn a stipend while building leadership skills?

Apply to for the Community Action Model today using this form!!

yli is recruiting young people for the Community Action Model (CAM) a youth-led program focused on addressing the harmful impacts of commercial tobacco in our communities.

This project engages high school and transitional-age youth (ages 12-24), with a focus on uplifting the voices of youth of color and LGBTQ+ youth. We will be prioritizing current high school students, particularly YOWs (Youth Outreach Workers).

As a CAM participant, you’ll learn about the history of tobacco, how Big Tobacco has targeted communities, and the impacts of commercial tobacco on public health. You’ll work with other youth to explore solutions, including policies that could help create a commercial tobacco-free future, while respecting ceremonial and traditional uses of tobacco.You’ll also learn about real policy efforts  like a Commercial Tobacco-Free Generation policy — that could prevent anyone born on or after January 1, 2005 from ever buying commercial tobacco. Similar policies already exist in places like Europe, Brookline, MA, and New Zealand. San Francisco could be next.

Requirements/Commitments

  • Programming will be in-person in San Francisco – site TBA
  • Programming will be held weekly after school (time TBA)
  • Participants need to be available occasionally on weekends

Opportunities include:

  • Networking with professionals in government, public health, and community organizers
  • Public speaking, ancestral storytelling, tobacco education, civic engagement, leadership, and research skill development

Programming will begin in early March, 2026 and continue until the end of December 2026!

Eligibility

  • Youth must be local to San Francisco, CA
  • Youth must be within the age range of 12-24. Priority will be given to current high school students
  • SFUSD’s YOW (Youth Outreach Workers) participants are highly encouraged to apply!
  • Must have interest in public health, community advocacy, and/or tobacco education

How to apply

Click here to apply!! Please reach out to Program Coordinator, Tatiana at [email protected] for more information.

Application Deadline: February 21st, 2026 (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis)