Fortifying Futures for our Youth
We are convening partners to build the future we wish to see and live in.
Led by youth.
Co-designed by community.
Grounded in joy.
Aspiring towards hope.
All young people deserve a world that honors their boundless brilliance.
The scope of this project is about fortifying the elements of thriving and what needs to be present far upstream to render youth incarceration and homelessness nonexistent. While also addressing the need for nourishing relationships, self-efficacy, joy, and whole-person wellness amongst those striving to address youth incarceration and unhoused youth in King County.
To do this, we must not only be clear about what we are against, but what we are for and coalescing strategies and ideas on how to get there, together.
This project centers youth as a part of both the project and co-design teams to curate a youth-centered, multi-generational, multi-sector community group to co-design emergent solution-oriented, whole community innovative ideas that are created from a space of hope and abundance.
Project Goals
Emergent Ideation + Co-Design
Meaningful power is noticeable, and we understand that communities have the spaciousness to cultivate solutions and a sense of self-determination through co-destined experiences. We believe in building with, not for. This project will cultivate and ideate upstream and asset-based projects that materialize a vision for communities having the things that obviate youth incarceration and unhoused youth and moving those emerging possibilities through a youth-vetted process to funder supported model implementation.
Youth Voice Cultivation + Leadership
Our intention is to give youth power. We work as allies to ensure youth experiences, perspectives, and aspirations are not only heard, but valued and acted upon. Fortifying Futures will co-create a youth-focused space that will be an incubator for project ideation, mentorship, and self-determination. This space will nurture joyful youth leadership and provide key feedback for this project. We will hold ourselves and each other accountable to youth brilliance through several modalities as well as group observations of values in action.
Communal Wellness + Fostering Deep Relationships
We are moving at the speed of relationships. We are building a container for deep change while honoring that we are also a part of that container and community. To create from a true space of abundance requires supporting all to feel seen, heard, and cared for through this journey. We desire to meet people where they are by supporting opportunities for mental health supports, financial compensation, professional coaching, network connections, mentorship and training opportunities.
Transforming Power
Change is the only constant. All project groups have a specific learning and unlearning journey arc that will support that group in recognizing and shifting power. We are aiming to unbecoming the subjects of research and philanthropic endeavors for our communities by including all project participants in the co-creation of process documentation. Our project funders are a part of this journey and enter the space with the understanding that they are not the drivers and do not predetermine outcomes for us.
Timeline
Phase I – Planning
September 2023 – January 2024
Phase II – Convening
February 2024 – October/November 2024
Phase III – Cultivating
October 2024 – February/May 2025
Phase IV – Evaluation + Beta Testing
Estimated 15 months
Phase V – Implementation
Estimated 12 months
Consulting Team
Shadia Amir
Adultism Training Consultant As a youth worker, AHSHAY’s organizational values align very closely with Shadia’s own. AHSHAY and Shadia share a belief in the transforming power of collective liberation, and young people, when given the proper support, resources, dignity, and autonomy, have the capability of imagining and building a liberatory world for all people. She believes the youth are our future, and it is her personal and professional mission to provide adults with the tools they need to engage with young people in this change work.
Jessica Curry
Design Team Consultant Jessica comes from Tacoma and now resides in Seattle. She fell in love with community work while completing her bachelor’s degree. She is committed to advancing and uplifting the voices of socially marginalized groups, specifically Black and Brown and low-income communities. Working with AHSHAY as a youth consultant was a wonderful experience and allowed her to familiarize herself with the concerns of those most vulnerable – our youth. She hopes to take what she learned at AHSHAY with her wherever she goes.
Paola Maranan
Co-design Facilitator and Design Partner Paola helps leaders and organizations move forward their commitment to racial equity. A seasoned non-profit leader, Paola has spent more than 30 years fighting for just policies for kids and families in Washington. She most recently completed 16 years of service as Executive Director of Children’s Alliance where she helped build a racial equity-focused public policy practice that secured health care coverage for every child, historic investments in early learning, and more food to feed hungry kids and families. Her work also included integrating racial equity into every facet of the organization – from staff development to board governance to operations. Paola’s support for hardwiring racial equity into child advocacy organizations across the country was recognized by her peers in 2019 with the Florette Angel Award from The Partnership for America’s Children. She continues to support organizations through her own consulting firm, ArcBend Consulting, and as a Senior Consultant with Imago LLC.
Victor Rodriquez
Youth Coach Victor is a community organizer, social worker, and public health strategist. His labor is focused on transitioning the world from social, economic, and political systems that harm people and the planet to systems that heal, protect, and sustain all life. Victor’s work is dedicated to his parents, children, ancestors, the planet, and future generations. He was raised in Michoacán, Mexico until the age of eight and then migrated to Skagit Valley, where he worked and organized as a farmworker. He is the proud father of Axuni, Hai’uunari, and Maxkirai. Victor is a Xicano of indigenous descent (Purépecha/Mexica) and uses pronouns He/His/Him.
Maketa Wilborn
Graphic Recorder and Coach Maketa (pronounced “ma-kay-ta”) is an organizational development consultant, master facilitator, Co-Active certified leadership and career coach, and artist. He brings over 20 years of experience to lead individuals and groups toward their objectives and their highest potential. His passion for building intentional and engaged communities shines through his innovative and integrated approaches – graphic facilitation, graphic recording, experiential learning, group coaching, and play. He designs and facilitates high engagement strategic processes for mission-driven organizations, provides thought partnership for leaders pushing the edges, ignites personal development breakthroughs for motivated professionals, and makes outcomes visible for everyone in the room.
