The Nashville Child and Youth Collaborative will hold a youth-focused forum with mayoral candidates on Monday, June 26. WPLN News is partnering for the event. This Is Nashville host Khalil Ekulona will moderate alongside members of the mayor’s youth council, and the This Is Nashville team will produce special episodes to bring the content of the forum to WPLN listeners the week of June 26.
Even though kids can’t vote, they’re the top priority for a coalition of nonprofits. The Nashville Child and Youth Collaborative has a released a five-point agenda for candidates in the city’s mayoral race.
“We believe a great city is measured by how it supports its children and youth and that the mayor is responsible for leading the way in this work,” the group wrote in a statement alongside the agenda.
The collaborative is calling on the city’s next mayor to work with families and service providers to define and measure youth health and development by neighborhood. They want that information publicized to track and close opportunity gaps across the city.
The coalition also wants several systemic changes. For starters: reestablishing the Office of Children and Youth.
They want the city to make investments in meeting children’s needs. Those include things like housing, nutritious food and mental health supports. They say the next administration should also break silos between various city and nonprofit service providers, so that families can more easily access all the different types of help they may need.
To see a more detailed breakdown of the group’s priorities, click here.
An online survey of Nashville youth helped inform the agenda. The coalition found that over half of respondents felt that youth have no voice in the city, or are unsure if they do. Many also expressed concerns about their mental health and having basic needs go unmet.
The Nashville Child and Youth Collaborative, alongside WPLN and This Is Nashville, will hold a youth-focused forum with mayoral candidates on Monday, June 26.
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