Photos by Angela Truong.

Young Invincibles hosted the 2018 State of California Millennials Summit at CSU Dominguez Hills last Saturday where millennial elected leaders discussed the situations young people are facing today.

Young Invincibles is a nonprofit organization dedicated to including the voices of young adults in the political process and increasing their economic opportunities. The nonprofit also focuses on education, stable jobs and health care for young adults. The vision of the summit involves creating a space to discuss these issues with the community and finding solutions.

Vice Mayor Rex Richardson joined Compton Mayor Aja Brown, Covina Councilmember Jorge Marquez and Walnut Councilmember Andrew Rodriguez who addressed these issues and offered their own solutions.

“Our organization focuses across the issue areas of higher education, workforce, health care and civic engagement because it is by addressing all of these interconnected issues that we advance our mission of building the economic security and political participation of young adults,” said Gustavo Herrera, Western Regional Director of Young Invincibles.

Richardson explained that he collaborates with PATH (Promising Adults Tomorrow’s Hope), a 6-month program giving the opportunity for at-risk youth under the age of 26 to get connected so they can find employment.

Eighty-three percent of people ages 22 to 25 with student debt who have not bought a home blame their educational loans, a spokesperson stated. Marquez explained how he was fortunate not to have student debt but he is also unable to own a home just like other young adults. He said that he wants to work on that issue with the city of Covina. Brown agreed that housing is a huge issue for millennials and explained that young people currently exiting college have the highest amount of debt.

The Young Invincibles spokesperson said it has become a distant dream for our generation because we’re crushed by these student debts.

Four out of 10 students reported food insecurity at the CSU campus system. Eleven percent reported experiencing homelessness one or more times in the last 12 months. Two laws were passed in 2017 in an effort to provide support for California college students experiencing food insecurity on college campuses.

More Than 1K Meals Provided for Food-Insecure Students Through CSULB Drive

The elected leaders also spoke about increasing Cal Grant dollars for low-income students and informed attendees that the CSU system recently voted not to raise tuition this year. Richardson wants people to understand that millennials are a different generation from high school students, Baby Boomers and Generation X.

“Millennials value vacation time, value flexibility, want to live in nontraditional housing type roles and they want their jobs to be nontraditional,” said Richardson. “They embrace the shared economy and they take their Uber to work.”

During the event, Richardson announced a new organization in Long Beach, Economic and Policy Impact Center (EPIC), similar to Young Invincibles, that would give young adults the opportunity to access jobs, start their own businesses and own a home. EPIC will launch on May 16.

Rodriguez suggested for those that want to make a change to get involved and show up to council meetings or events like this.

To register to vote, text “register” to 788683.