We are from East Palo Alto...

“I believe that the Future Center could be like a foundation for our growth [...] we need people to help us, to be patient, and to see us grow.”  - Peter Diaz, McClymonds High School, Senior

For the third year in a row, the New York City Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence (OCDV) has worked in partnership with Y-PLAN NYC students to make schools hubs of healthy, equitable dating behaviors and leveraging the power of young people to combat abuse across the city. What Y-PLAN students are doing in these projects is harnessing the school –the built environment and social resources- as a site to disrupt cycles of intimate partner abuse, domestic abuse, and non-consensual behaviors.

Get ready because Y-PLAN has very exciting events coming up! After a semester of research and design, Y-PLAN students will be presenting their proposals covering topics like combating housing insecurity and homelessness; creating a college going culture; building climate change resilience in the Bay Area; and much more!

What role does food play in urban communities? Why do some residents have more easy access to healthy, fresh food than others? What are the best strategies for Richmond to ensure its residents have access to healthy food? Richmond High School Health Academy Y-PLAN students explored these questions and more while designing proposals to revitalize Downtown Richmond and provide more jobs by improving access to and information about farm fresh foods for everyone.

This summer, Y-PLAN Japan welcomed 100 high school students from Japan to the Bay Area for the TOMODACHI Softbank Leadership Program.

The final Y-PLAN presentations to BART from the Kennedy High School IT Academy Seniors will take place on Monday December 5 from 5:30-7:30 pm.

“Our voice, us students, we can be heard. We can make what we want to happen, happen."

This post is the first in a two-part series highlighting two exceptional Plan4Health projects: one in Sacramento, California, and one in Pierce County, Washington. These communities may be more than 700 miles apart, but they are united in the shared goal of building healthy communities through principles of active design. Each project has unlocked the secret to successful planning for public health: civic engagement.

Y-PLAN NYC alumnus Ana Quinones shares her experience with civic engagement, Y-PLAN, and their impact on her college and community readiness