Fostering youth advocacy: Youth Action Initiative of Massachusetts

The Youth Action Initiative (YAI), a project funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and managed by The Medical Foundation, aims to create a statewide, youth-led movement around tobacco control and prevention. YAI's six main program components include a mini-grants program, a youth advisory group, youth leadership awards, an annual youth summit, a film-shorts contest, and a youth website. Each component empowers youth to engage in community education and mobilization efforts with the goals of changing social norms and policy around tobacco. The YAI program model takes a comprehensive approach to building a statewide community of youth tobacco control advocates. There are multiple entry points for youth to participate. Mini-grants are available to youth groups to encourage education and advocacy work in schools and communities. Past projects led to victories such as passing local ordinances to ban smoking in parks and playing fields and increasing student-body awareness of the presence of tobacco on school grounds. A statewide youth advisory group brings youth advocates together to work on projects while gaining leadership and advocacy skills. This group will serve to be an informed and representative voice of the movement. YAI's other activities are additional entry points for youth to get their voices heard, make changes at the local and state level, and connect with other youth across the state. YAI provides lessons around methods to effectively foster youth advocacy to ultimately engage young people in the tobacco control movement.