New Voices Are Rising seeks to increase civic participation within under-represented communities, increase young people’s commitment to environmental justice, and reduce air and water pollution that severely impact both human health and the health of the San Francisco Bay. The program helps young people gain the skills and experience in civic engagement that they need to begin to tackle the problems – including environmental health problems – that disproportionately impact their communities.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
2017 New Voices students
Two to four students from the Summer Institute are recruited to become New Voices Are Rising Fellows during the school year, giving them the opportunity to pursue environmental justice work in greater depth. The students use the skills they learned and the leadership potential they developed, applying it to community capacity-building and outreach projects with New Voices and program partners focused on reducing toxic exposure, addressing climate change, and increasing competency in low-income communities and communities of color to meaningfully engage in environmental decision-making.
NEW VOICES ARE RISING ADVISORY BOARD
What’s New with New Voices
FIRED UP FOR THE CHANGE WE NEED! Amplifying Youth Voices for Our Communities and the Environment
Support the 2018 Summer Climate Justice Youth Leadership Academy! Low-income neighborhoods in Oakland are burdened with many environmental challenges, including toxic pollution from heavy industry, poor air and water quality, and lack of green space. Young people living in these areas are among those most impacted by this pollution, suffering from asthma and other serious health issues. New Voices Are Rising knows that it’s these very young people, who experience environmental burdens on a daily basis, who are the best leaders for change!
Apply to the 2018 Summer Acedamy! Applications are now open
The Summer Climate Justice Leadership Academy (Summer Academy) is an intensive 6-week program for youth and young adults 15-19 in Oakland. Join a community of people who want to make sure that all Oakland residents can survive and thrive in a changing climate.
New Voices Tests the Water
“Ploop ploop ploop” is the unique sound made by pouring out a bottle filled with lake mud and water. During New Voices Are Rising students’ and Rose Foundation staff’s recent cleanup of Oakland’s Lake Merritt, we pulled out several bottles and a number of odd bits of trash from the lake’s brackish water.
“We’re Not Crazy, We’re Just Trying to Breathe Out Here”
Yesterday, New Voices Are Rising Intern Coordinator Mykela Patton led a march and rally to protest ongoing maneuvers to bring dirty coal into Oakland. In January, US District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled that developer Phil Tagami’s lawsuit challenging Oakland’s ban on shipping coal within the city will receive a trial. Tagami is attempting to overturn the Oakland City Council’s 2014 unanimous adoption of a measure to ban coal shipments within the city.
Join New Voices and Stand up to Fossil Fuels
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled that Phil Tagami’s lawsuit challenging the City of Oakland’s ban on coal will head to trial. A youth led and youth organized rally will show Tagami and the City of Oakland that the youth will not stand for coal in their city. The rally will begin at Street Academy 417 29th St, Oakland, CA 94609 to Oakland City Hall down Broadway.
Thank you to our institutional program funders, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the California EPA,the East Bay Municipal Utilities District, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, New Resource Bank, and the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth.
