As advocates, we work to transform systems where it is too often accepted practice to destroy and erode each element necessary for the childhood, well-being, and humanity of Black, Indigenous and Latino children. Yet, we know making it to adulthood amidst persistent racial injustice and white supremacy depends on the strength and safe harbor of a caring family and community. YLC is committed to ending the criminalization, institutionalization, and dehumanization of Black and Brown children and to advocacy that ensures that the young people and families most affected have the power, opportunities, and resources to create a different future. We stand ready to work in community with those who are similarly envisioning a more just world where Black, Indigenous, Latino, and all children are safe, loved, and most importantly, free to dream and exist.
YLC’s advocacy approach is grounded in the belief that those most directly impacted by systems are best positioned to transform them. As advocates, we seek out the spaces and places where we can hear from those young people and their families and offer them the support they need to lift up the vision they have for change and build power. We believe that change comes from deeply listening to young people and the organizations that support them, from helping them to translate their ideas into practice and policy change, and from working in partnership to move forward advocacy to transform systems.
As an organization, YLC is committed to actively working towards the internal and external practices that ensure we live our diversity, equity, and inclusion values. YLC aims to support and empower a team that reflects the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills needed to make our advocacy successful, with particular emphasis on the value of lived experience of system-involvement. This also means that we value and prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of protected characteristics, including race, ethnicity, color, ancestry, nationality, immigration status, class, body size, religion, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, HIV status, genetics, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, martial or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as defined by Federal, State, or local law.