Portland Youth Council

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Background to the Creation of the Portland Youth Council

In the summer of 2019, the City of Portland participated for the first time in the Gateway to Opportunity (G20) program, a collaboration of the Youth and Community Engagement Department at the University of Southern Maine and Goodwill Northern New England. The G20 participants, who spent 6 weeks at City Hall, were all seniors or newly graduated from Deering, Portland, and Casco Bay High Schools and were supervised by a senior at USM and the City of Portland's Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Specialist.

The City of Portland identified the need to create a youth council that will serve in an advisory role to the City of Portland’s City Council, providing the Portland Youth Council members a genuine voice on pressing and complex issues of importance to our city's youth. The G20 participants devoted their summer to creating the framework for this Youth Council, including determining what the membership criteria, goals, and application should look like. They also conducted a survey of Portland youth to identify issues of critical importance to youth residing in our city, ultimately identifying complex issues including drug and alcohol abuse, teen homelessness, and climate change.

The Youth Council will consist of 13 youth residing in Portland between the ages of 14 and 18, including two members from each of Portland’s geographical districts and three members at large. The City hopes for a diverse membership of youth representing private and public schools, homeless teens, and homeschooled students, all of whom will serve one-year terms that we anticipate launching in October 2019.

Are you interested in applying for membership on the Portland Youth Council for 2019-2020?  Applications are due by Friday, October 11, 2019.  

In order to be on the Portland Youth Council, you need to:
-Be between the ages of 14 and 18
-Be involved in the community
-Commit to attending meetings twice a month
-Reside in Portland, with homeless teens eligible to participate
-Demonstrate strong leadership, communication, and responsibility   

 You can apply one of two ways:

(1) Print out this application  and submit to Mandy Levine, City of Portland's Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Specialist via email at alevine@portlandmaine.gov or

mail it to:

Mandy Levine
City of Portland
389 Congress Street, Room 115
Portland, Maine 04101

or

(2) Complete the application via Google Forms, https://forms.gle/TZmpo2Fhgv215CLb8  

A City of Portland staff member will contact you to set up an interview if you are being considered for potential PYC membership.  

Please contact the following person with questions or to request a translation: Mandy Levine, alevine@portlandmaine.gov, 207-874-8620.

Arabic/   العربية:    Mandy Levine, alevine@portlandmaine.gov, 207-874-8620:     يرجى الاتصال بالشخص التالي إذا كان لديك أسئلة أو لطلب ترجمة

French/Français:  Si vous avez des questions ou si vous avez besoin d’une traduction, veuillez contacter la personne suivante: Mandy Levine, alevine@portlandmaine.gov, 207-874-8620

Khmer/ខ្មែរ: សូមទាក់ទងបុគ្គលិកខាងក្រោម បើមានសំណួរ ឬដើម្បីស្នើសុំការបកប្រែ៖ ឈ្មោះ   Mandy Levine, alevine@portlandmaine.gov, 207-874-8620

Kirundi/ Ikirundi: Niwaba ufise ibibazo canke ukeneye gusaba umusiguzi, rondera uyo muntu akurikira: Mandy Levine, alevine@portlandmaine.gov, 207-874-8620

Portuguese/Português: Por favor entre em contato com a seguinte pessoa para perguntas ou para solicitar uma tradução: Mandy Levine, alevine@portlandmaine.gov, 207-874-8620

Somali: Fadlan la xiriir qofkan hoose wixii su’aalo ah ama codsi turjumaan ah: Mandy Levine, alevine@portlandmaine.gov, 207-874-8620

Spanish/Español: Si tiene preguntas o para solicitar una traducción, comuníquese con esta persona: Mandy Levine, alevine@portlandmaine.gov, 207-874-8620

Vietnamese/Tiếng Việt: Xin hãy vui lòng liên hệ với người sau đây với những câu hỏi hoặc để yêu cầu dịch: Mandy Levine, alevine@portlandmaine.gov, 207-874-8620