Sacramento County Youth Commissioners push for visibility, voice in government

Diana Haus wants to make members of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors go viral on TikTok.

Fatigued with the board’s reliance on Facebook, she wants to use a more modern platform to inform youth of Sacramento County of local civic engagement opportunities.

“They could do like trends or the Love Island intro,” Haus shared. “The culture is that youth are really involved online and having an online presence is really important and really effective to connect and teach about outreach.”

Haus heads the Sacramento County Youth Commission’s efforts on social media. She’s part of a growing push from the commission to make county government more accessible to its youngest constituents — not just through policy, but platforms, outreach and real community presence. She is one of four members of the commission who presented an annual report to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

At the meeting, the commission detailed the five prominent issues they sought to address this year: racial and economic justice and education, environmental advocacy, civic engagement and public health. They addressed these topics through statewide listening sessions with nonprofit organizations that prioritize on equality and representation.

Next year, though, they want to corroborate youth input with community outreach to garner a more prominent presence within the community.

Community service and spreading the word

Haus first joined the commission in middle school. Familiar with government as president of her grade at Sacramento Country Day School, she sought an opportunity to apply her skills beyond the school grounds.

Recently, she’s gotten involved with civic engagement using social media and newsletters to increase awareness about the commissions’ efforts.

“In the civic engagement subcommittee, we’ve been able to table a lot of things, go to events and use social media to reach out to a lot more people,” Haus said. “One week, we had 2,000 page views for our newsletter, and it’s been really nice to see the commission connect and get people involved.”

Joyce Lin, chairperson of the commission, spread the word about the commission through a book drive she produced across high schools in the county through the Education Subcommittee.

Enticing her classmates with the potential to gain National Honor Society service hours, Lin curated an event that meshed inputs of her peers and those of the broader community. She estimated that they donated about 1,000 books in total to local libraries. They carried boxes weighed down by dozens of hardbacks from car trunks on foot.

“It was painful,” Lin admitted before chuckling. “But so many children don’t have access to books, and so there was this great feeling of being able to provide resources for people to engage their inner learner.”

Taking public input

Commissioner MJ Vaughn said one way she makes sure the commissions’ activities are relevant is by prioritizing the opinions of her classmates at Rio Americana High School.

“I make it a point to talk to my classmates about local issues, ask them their opinion and understand where they’re coming from and input that into what we do,” Vaughn said. “Because I’m not just here for myself, I’m here for all the kids I represent in my district and in the country, and that makes a really big difference.”

In taking their opinions into consideration, Vaughn wants to further the narrative that it’s local politics that affect individuals more intimately than the federal and state laws that make bold headlines.

She explained that being on the commission and acting as a representative has taught her invaluable lessons in communication and collaboration.

Commissioner Brooklyn Pruitt shared Vaughn’s sentiments, emphasizing the importance of having more than one youth commissioner from each district.

During meetings, the commission often debates for longer than two hours. What helps them find common ground, though, is their desire to move the needle while still being the best of friends.

I work work with people that want to be here just as much as I do, and I can’t imagine doing this without them, Pruitt said.

Future goals and better correspondence

Next year, the commission hopes to do more work with substance abuse and vaping prevention in school, teaching youth in the county what to do if one of their peers is overdosing and purchasing overdose kits with informational brochures to hand out.

Vaughn acknowledged that a roadblock in potentially addressing this, though, is the general lack of collaboration between them and “the adults” on the board of supervisors.

Despite the challenges, Vaughn sees a path forward — and she hopes more adults will start listening.

“People forget that we kids are also constituents,” Vaughn said. “We also have rights and opinions. Even though we can’t vote, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a place in the government.”