Youth Activists Celebrate Their Achievements

By Donna Tam
Special to AsianWeek

Acting more like a family than just a youth advocacy organization, the members and staff of Youth Making a Change (YMAC) — past and present — came together on June 19 to celebrate the many youth leaders who have made a great difference in the San Francisco community.

The room of the First Unitarian Church on Franklin Street was filled with people of different ages and races who believe in the cause of YMAC, an organization run by youth to help youth. They shared stories, memories, inside jokes and laughed — a lot.

“It’s an important part of my role to honor these people,” said N’Tanya Lee, director of youth development at Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, the parent organization of YMAC. “Young people are often not getting the recognition they need.” YMAC began in 1991 to teach children how to become their own advocates, with the intent of making the city a better place for youth.

“When they first told me of all the projects they did and the different things they’re involved in, I just fell in love with it,” said Suzanne Chiu, 18, who gradated from YMAC last year. “They do so much for so many people. It’s just amazing.”

Over the years, YMAC has opened the gate for many new programs and services for youth. It helped in the fight against anti-immigrant Proposition 21, brought wellness centers to public high schools by raising $1.4 million and started YouthVote.

“YouthVote is where students can vote. It’s like a mock election, we have it every year, and we put in issues that we [feel are] important,” explained Erica Nguyen, 16, a current member of YMAC.

Left to right: Erica Ngugen, YMAC director N’Tanya Lee and Lily Wong.

After years of work, YouthSpace will finally open in 2003. “We built it from a dream — a sort of Youthtopia,” said YMAC member Herbert Aliga.

In addition to its projects, YMAC also holds rallies and dances to keep other youth aware. “They teach you to be more aware of things and spread your awareness,” said Chiu. “I’ve grown so much because of YMAC.”

YMACers have worked hard to get their voices heard by authorities and the community; it has not been an easy fight.

“I guess it’s like we have cards dealt against us. So we just have to fight those cards and talk to the adults,” Aliga said. “I know a lot of young people are a lot more passive.” Some YMACers have other challenges to deal with as well, such as their families and their culture.

“My mom was saying, you’re a girl and you shouldn’t be doing this, this is too much busy work, just go to school,” said Chiu. “My parents are very traditional … they would say you could be studying instead, you’re a girl, stay at home.”

Aliga found that though his parents did not understand in the beginning, they warmed up to the idea of his being an active member of his community. “At first they didn’t really believe it, they didn’t really expect that of me. They expected me to take a much more passive role,” he said. “But once I was elected to the San Francisco youth commission, they started becoming real proud.”

The youth commission is a group of youth that advises the Board of Supervisors and the mayor on issues that are important to children and youths. Of course, even if youths can get support from their families, it doesn’t mean that they have to like it. For example, 17-year-old Lily Wong has been at YMAC for four years, and her parents’ opinion seem to remain the same.

“I have some problems sometimes because my mom believes that ‘all cops are good,’ and obviously you still hear about police brutality reports,” she said. “And then my sisters would argue with me about every political thing I do. We agree to disagree; we may not agree on things, but I just do what I think is good and they just support me.”

Chiu was lucky enough to have her parents change their minds. “Now, they’re really happy. Before I joined YMAC I was never really active, and now I can speak up for myself,” she said. “Regardless of what someone believes, if it is right or wrong, as long as you can justify your actions, if you believe in something, you should go after it.”

For more information on YMAC visit www.colemanadvocates.org, e-mail ymac@colemanadvocates.org or call 415-642-1048.