About the Multnomah Youth Commission

Information
Three Multnomah Youth Council members speak at a table during their 2019-20 Swearing in Ceremony
The Multnomah Youth Commission (MYC) is the official youth policy body for both the City of Portland and Multnomah County. MYC members range in ages 13-21 and strive to provide a voice for youth in the City and County's work.

What We Do

Housed within the City of Portland's Office of Community & Civic Life and Multnomah County Chair’s Office of Diversity and Equity, the MYC works to change policy affecting young people, as well as negative community perception about youth. The work includes:

Education/Youth Voice

Prior to COVID-19, we were working to on Later High School Start Times. We also plan a candidate forum during election season. This fall we will work on a virtual event to bring awareness and education on the November local election.

Transit Justice

MYC advocated for a region-wide YouthPass program, after years of advocacy and building with local youth organization & allies, the summer of 2020 we advocated for Metro to refer a Transportation measure to the ballot that includes funding for a region-wide YouthPass program. MYC does not endorse candidates or ballot measure. Read more about Metro's Transportation measure.

Violence Prevention/Anti-Violence

Our most recent work includes partnering with local organization Word Is Bond, to do Youth-Participatory Research on the subject of how youth of color perceive law enforcement. Through this research we reached over 500 youth, primarily youth of color, by way of listening sessions and surveys. We presented our work at the December 5th, 2019 Youth and Gang Violence Steering Committee of the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council. 

The presentation titled, Uncovering Our Police System: A Narrative by Urban/Suburban youth of Color in a State Based on White Supremacist Ideals, goes into depth on the findings. What we found was the following common themes: generalization of identities and perspectives for both youth and police; trauma left by negative interactions with police; a sense of a lack of consistency in policing; a sense that future conflicts are unavoidable; and feelings of hopelessness that the system is never going to change. 

MYC Fact Sheet


Find Out More

To find out more information about this program and its work, please visit the Multnomah County website: 

Official Multnomah Youth Commission Website

Multnomah Youth Commission, Office of Community & Civic Life, and Multnomah County logos

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