Youth Leadership: The Link’s Youth Advisory Committees
The Link is a youth and adult led nonprofit. We value the insight and leadership of
youth with lived experience and have created a youth and adult co-leadership
model within The Link. The Youth Engagement Program works to empower youth
as co-leaders of the organization through the Youth Advisory Committee structure.
Youth on our Advisory Committees are young people who have lived experience of
homelessness, sexual exploitation and/or involvement in the juvenile justice and
foster care systems. These young people are part-time employees and leaders of
The Link who help co-design and evaluate programs, support hiring processes,
engage in agency strategic planning, and provide critical input into advocacy
efforts at the local, state, and national levels.
Housing Advisory Committee
The Housing Advisory Committee oversees The Link’s Housing & Homeless Services Division.
RILE Advisory Committee
RILE (Rooted In Lived Experience) Advisory Committee youth have lived experience of involvement with the juvenile justice system and provide leadership to our Youth Advocacy Division.
Survivor Advisory Committee
This committee is made up of youth with lived experience of sexual exploitation and/or trafficking and oversees The Link’s Safe Harbor Division.
We Will Breathe Racial Justice and Healing Group
We Will Breathe is our youth led racial justice and healing group. This group provides leadership skills through artistry and a racial justice and healing curriculum. This group is in partnership with one of The Link’s former program participants and his organization, the N4 Collective along with the Equity News Network (ENN).
