Youth & Community Leader Forums
Youth often say adults don't listen to them. At the YMCA we believe that positive adult interaction can profoundly impact young lives and that the responsibility for that interaction goes beyond parents and teachers.

The YMCA Youth & Community Leader Forums bring together youth and business leaders to support dialogue between adults and young people.

Our goal in these forums is to support open conversation between key adult decision makers and teens to explore what is and isn't working in our community and to talk about what can be done.

The events are held in community settings and are facilitiated by YMCA staff and skilled volunteers.

The Forums
The forums begin with informal roundtable discussions faciliated by YMCA staff and volunteers. The objective of the small groups is to break down barriers between adults and youth through an exploration of individual hopes, fears and concerns for the future and to discuss new roles and relationships for supporting youth in community life and leadership.

These discussions are followed by a town hall meeting session led by a facilitator, allowing the entire group to explore ways to address concerns that emerged in the small group setting.