2022 January OHIO YAB Meeting

Link to more photos. 

Yesterday was the OHIO YAB’s first statewide quarterly meeting in person since January 2020.

Although COVID kept Ohio youth leaders from being able to meet in person, youth ambassadors from every county and regional YAB have continued to move the work of the Board forward behind the scenes, including:

• Virtual meetings with legislators
• Virtual Roundtables with the Governor
• Youth brainstorming sessions on Zoom

But there is a certain power that comes from meeting in person. So much has happened over the past two years. Yesterday’s 12 and 13-year-olds are now 14 and 15, and have been missing out on having a statewide voice. This is why we were determined to make yesterday’s meeting happen, even when the funding for our space and food fell through.

As with every other thing about 2022, things were and are unpredictable. The most active Youth Ambassadors over the past two years weren’t able to make it due to (a.) not being able to get out of class, (b.) having COVID, (c.) their ride had COVID, (d.) someone they had been in contact with recently had COVID, (e.) a family member had COVID.

The OHIO YAB is based on “overcoming hurdles in Ohio,” and that’s exactly what happened yesterday. The partnership between Franklin and Stark Counties which was formed during a youth retreat in Feb. 2020 was rekindled. A former OHIO YAB President drove down to be of support. Youth for whom this was their very first OHIO YAB meeting exemplified the quote of: “Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes.”

Participating youth were able to have a voice about:

• How they define permanency
• Driver’s Ed and Driver’s Licenses
• A Resource App Pilot
• The future Youth Ombudsman Office