We will be meeting at the YMCA Maple Street starting Saturday, February 7, and ending on Saturday, February 28.
This is a paid journalism training and apprenticeship program. The program includes four workshops led by journalist Earlene McMichael, a former Kalamazoo Gazette and WMUK reporter, which will also include individual mentorship with professional journalists. Training is $100 for attendance and $150 for a finished, publishable project.
Enrollment fills up fast! Please enroll and indicate your topic interest using the QR Code or this LINK.
The Spring 2023 Voices of Youth Kalamazoo drew 14 writers and artists. The subjects they chose included minority representation in Advanced Placement courses, challenges for high school transgender athletes, and the impact on youth mental health due to the rise in mass shootings. We'll be publishing their pieces throughout July.
Recent mass school shootings at Oxford High School and Michigan State University have added to the angst high schoolers are feeling about a national gun violence epidemic. Even when not directly involved in a mass shooting, youth experience related anxiety and trauma.
Kalamazoo's Youth Juvenile Justice Fellowship program supports the development of youth advocates in the community, as well as a vision to create an alternative to youth incarceration in Kalamazoo. Southwest Michigan Second Wave's Mark Wedel speaks to a family who was impacted by an inequitable response when their son was nine, a situation which inspired them to get involved in advocating for juvenile justice reform.
This photo story features the work of Habakuki Kibezi, who attends Loy Norrix High School. This is his first Voices of Youth Kalamazoo session. He chose photography to illustrate the problems and solutions associated with in school violence.
This story features the work of Plamedie Ekumbaki a freshman at Kalamazoo Central High School. She was drawn to youth mental health as a topic and illustrated it through pictures.
This photo story features the work of Daniel Kibezi a student at Milwood Middle School in the sixth grade. This is Daniel’s second session with Kalamazoo Voices of Youth. He enjoys photography and uses this art form to explore the topic of policing in schools.
Safety measures and programs aimed at curbing gun violence among youth are in place and numbers of gun-related incidents in Kalamazoo are decreasing. Our Voices of Youth correspondent, Regina Kibezi, examines what’s being done about gun violence and how local youth are affected.
Climate change is a growing concern for both youth and adults. Our Voices of Youth correspondent examines what Kalamazoo is doing to protect the environment.
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