LYNNWOOD, Wash. — The first-ever Lynnwood Youth Council met for its second meeting at the Lynnwood Recreation Center on Thursday night.
Fifteen students from the area were chosen for the teen commission to share concerns and work together on solutions for curbing teen violence and having access to mental health resources.
“My primary reason for coming in was for mental health and third spaces,” said Alice Pham, the Chair of Lynnwood Youth Council.
Third spaces refer to social gathering spaces outside the home, school, or workplace.
Pham is among the youth council members who have the opportunity to learn from guest speakers like Kyle Ward, Human Services Coordinator for the City of Lynnwood, what it takes to lead a city.
“It’s really inspiring to see him do that, and it makes me want to do more in the community as well,” said Pham.
After Lynnwood Mayor George Hurst revealed there have been 14 shootings, 18 teen victims and 5 deaths since 2022 in Lynnwood, Jerico Magat was motivated to join the council to push for change.
“To make more places where we can hang out and stuff like that and decrease the amount of violence in our community and create equal opportunities,” said Magat.
Lynnwood City Councilmember Derica Escamilla is the Lynnwood Youth Council Liaison and helped lead the Thursday night meeting.
She says she and former Lynnwood City Council Member Josh Binda came up with the idea for the teen commission.
As the Lynnwood Youth Council works on bylaws to set the tone for their term and future councils, Aryan Jadal says he would recommend other teens to join “100%.”
“I think that it’s super cool that you can kind of help your own city that you live in as a teenager because usually you can’t do much, but here it feels like you can have an impact, and that’s important,” said Jadal.
Lynnwood Youth Council meets once a month at the Lynnwood Recreation Center and a few members will make an appearance at the November 18 Lynnwood City Council meeting to share more about their priorities and work.
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