As we look back at the 2020-2021 school year, we have seen ourselves and our community through many milestones.

We are a year older, a grade higher, and some of us have graduated on to the next chapter.
Our community has weathered a public health crisis, a presidential election, and a summer of intense wildfires and protests demanding equity and progress.

After some rest and reflection, we are so excited to continue our work with West Slope Youth Vote this summer and next school year.

There are so many students across the Western Slope who do not come across opportunities like our program, and as students ourselves, we understand how difficult it can be to find activities and opportunities which fit our interests and can help us reach our goals. After this last year, young people are more engaged than ever, and are looking for ways to make change in their own communities.

We want to reach those young people who would benefit most from this program, and provide support and guidance for them to lead the way toward progress and continued change across Western Colorado.

Typically our interns, who come from all over the Western Slope, are introduced to the program by word of mouth, and simple invitations from students and peers.

This year, we are working towards more inclusivity and plan to achieve that through building relationships with educators in the Grand Valley. Teachers and counselors are the ones who most strongly understand students’ passions and interests, so as we strive towards reaching out to a wider range of students, we hope to gather help from these leaders in our community.

This year, we also saw the most important election of our lifetimes play out. Of course, every young person in America had their eyes on the presidential race, but we also saw congressional, state, and local races across the nation be won or lost within a few points.

Last year we registered over 400 students to vote in their very first primaries as the power of voter mobilization and activation was more prevalent than ever. As a program centered around helping young people make positive change, we want to continue our effort to help as many students understand their ballots, how to vote, and why issues are important.

When registering students to vote, students filled out surveys to tell us which issues are most important to them.

These questions ranged from “What do you like about living in Western CO?” to “Rate how important these issues are to you.”

We found that 51% of all students surveyed thought that the best part of living here was access to the outdoors, and that some key issues for many students were mental health support, affordable higher education, and better job opportunities. We have taken these responses from real students to legislators, and advocated for legislative and community solutions to these important issues.

Getting HB21-1119 to pass is one of the organization’s greatest victories and is an example of the work that can be done when we listen to the voices of our youth.

One of our most important values is making student’s voices heard, and we intend to continue doing so by ensuring we hear from students and communicate with them about their needs. Our past interns have been able to learn about legislation and tracking bills as they have prompted many legislative solutions to help young people, and we plan to continue this work to make progress for our peers on the Western Slope.
To keep up with our progress, please give us a like on Facebook or a follow on Instagram @WestSlopeYouthVote.