Campaigning For Change

Youth Jobs Union Big Picture Goals

IHAF imagines a future in which young people have direct power in advocating for better, more quality jobs, higher wages, and better working conditions through a #YouthJobsUnion. We believe that young people are the experts in their experiences and know what they need to be successful. A #YouthJobsUnion is a vehicle for increasing youth power in the workplace. Through the #YouthJobsUnion, young people would have the ability to negotiate with Commonwealth Corporation on wages directly, the contents of the YouthWorks RFP, SignalSucces curriculum, and any additional wrap-around services that young people need to be successful on the job.

By learning how to provide clear and direct ways for young people to better advocate for themselves in the workplace, there is an opportunity to provide those youth with a pathway to other means of collective power building.

People’s Budget Big Picture Goals

As a coalition, the Boston Budget Alliance is presently delving into planning our budget advocacy for the upcoming years. One initiative that generates enthusiasm among us is the creation of a People's Budget, aimed at uniting a base with sufficient influence to shape budgetary decisions.

Contact: Vikiana Petit-Homme, vikiana.ihaf@mcan.us

#EndingYouthCriminalization Big Picture Goals

To end the current system in which young people of color in Massachusetts are criminalized and denied opportunities to succeed.

Actions

V.O.I.C.E.S (Voices of Impacted Communities Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline) is a space for parents and students targeted by the School-to-Prison Pipeline to come together. This effort aims to connect families and provide a supportive platform to put youth and parent voices at the center of the advocacy work to end the School-to-Prison Pipeline in Massachusetts.

Members of V.O.I.C.E.S will meet monthly through in-person sessions (located in Nubian Square) beginning in 2024. Members will be paid $100 per session. Members will be students ages 15-25 years old with current or past court involvement, experiences with expulsion, school-based arrests, and their parents and caregivers.

Fill out this interest form to learn more.