Community Leadership

In October 2025, five African-American young men, ages 17 to 19, attended the NeighborWorks Community Leadership Institute (CLI) in Baltimore, where they were introduced to new environments, diverse perspectives, and leadership opportunities. This transformative experience helped them reimagine their potential and the role they could play in improving their community. During workshops and discussions, they identified a pressing issue: the lack of positive, safe spaces for youth in their neighborhood. With the removal of resources like the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club, they felt strongly about creating a youth-centered lounge where teens could hang out, study, mentor each other, and express themselves creatively in a space designed for them, by them.

This vision, known as the “Pilot Lounge,” reflects their desire to foster pride, connection, and growth among their peers. By bringing back leadership strategies learned at CLI, the young men plan to lead the project and involve others in its development. Their comments were “We didn’t realize how great we could make our own community.”

This highlights the importance of investing in our young people, offering them resources, and giving them a platform to be leaders and make meaningful changes in their community. With support from local organizations, this lounge has the potential to become a reality while empowering young people to make a difference.