Opening Doors With Meaningful Youth Engagement

Opening Doors With Meaningful Youth Engagement

At Camino, we believe in the power of young people. That’s why we are weaving Youth Engagement practices into everything we do. A key piece of this is listening to the young people in our community and incorporating their feedback and expertise to ensure our programs truly meet their needs. Youth help shape our programs through active participation and by sharing their thoughts about our organizational processes. We provide many ways for youth to be involved because we know they are the experts in their own experiences.

Here are some examples of youth involvement at Camino!

“That’s cool you used my idea!”

Regular Feedback Sessions

Our Program Feedback Sessions are integral to making sure we stay on track. Young people appreciate being asked for their opinions and seeing their ideas lead to changes at Camino. The success of our programs would not be the same without the valuable insight youth share. Youth also gain important understanding of how and why some suggestions might not be possible due to budget or space constraints.

Youth-Led Events

When youth take the lead on events, their sense of belonging increases. Our Youth Leadership Team is supported as they plan and implement their events. With events such as OK2BME’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Conference and Pride Prom, youth are involved every step of the way, making these events truly theirs. This involvement helps participants feel represented and see themselves in these spaces.

Building Skills and Providing Input

In our CREW program (Camino Recognizing Everyone’s Worth), youth volunteer and build new skills. They also share their thoughts on our different projects. Their insights help us see things from a fresh perspective, driving change at Camino. This impacts our work from program development to organizational practices and resources. Youth engagement is fortified by adult allyship, with the YES (Youth Engagement Support) Team and cross-departmental volunteers dedicated to amplifying youth voice throughout Camino.

Youth Employment

In Camino Youth Host positions, Pathways to Education program participants are employed to help plan and lead activities. Not only do they bring their own experience and expertise to this space, this also enables others to see their peers in leadership roles and envision themselves there someday. Youth Employees have shared that they appreciate working at Camino and learning about the behind-the-scenes work and having a voice in programming decisions. One of the greatest compliments is when they recommend the role to other participants, sharing how much it means to them.

Young people have valuable ideas and expertise to share, and their voices are critical in shaping the work that we do. We involve youth in things like compensation, transportation support, decision-making power, transparency, and relationship building. All are key pieces of creating spaces for meaningful youth engagement. By making sure every door is open to youth involvement, we build a stronger, more inclusive community. Their insights and participation help us grow and improve every day, and it helps them grow as strong leaders in our community.