The City of Elizabeth is in the process of creating their 10-year Master Plan. Groundwork Elizabeth will provide opportunities for youth voices to coordinate policy proposals to mitigate the effects of this pandemic and prepare the community for probable similar experiences, while educating them about the positive difference that civic actions can make.
We planned an outdoor get together within CDC guidelines at a local county park. While the weather forecast only had a 5% chance of rain…. yes, it rained! We moved to a local facility nearby, a county recreation center, hoping to get inside or at least under a roof overhang, however it was closed.
The city councilwoman who the youth met with reached out to the director of the county park who opened up the sheltered backyard portion of the facility for us. We used this experience as a lesson.
No one expected COVID, yet it came. No one expected rain, yet it came, and we dealt with it. Now our youth will help deal with COVID in the best way they can, by lending their voices to policies that will pose solutions to the community.
