WE ARE NOT JUST THE FUTURE, WE'RE THE PRESENT
We are Washington’s youth-led statewide network organizing to make government work for us.
$44M
SECURED FOR YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CARE
12+
CHAPTERS STATEWIDE
85%
BOARD UNDER 24
28
COUNTIES WE'RE BUILDING IN
What we're fighting for
Our Focus Areas
Three fights for one goal: a Washington where young people have real power over the decisions that shape their lives.
Mental Health We fight for the mental health support every young person deserves, and for the policies that keep them alive.
Young people are living through a mental health crisis, and for our generation the stakes are not abstract. Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and teens in America, ahead of car crashes and cancer. Many of those deaths are suicides, and a gun makes a moment of crisis far more likely to be final: about 9 in 10 firearm suicide attempts end in death. In homes with a gun, the youth suicide rate is roughly four times higher, and that danger is sharpest in rural Washington, where firearms are common and a school counselor can be hours away.
That's why we treat mental health and gun safety as one fight. WYA youth helped win $38 million in state funding for school counselors, crisis services, and student wellness, and helped pass Washington's assault weapons ban. During the 2024-25 session, we met with legislators more than 100 times to make the case ourselves.
Education Equity Your ZIP code shouldn't decide the quality of your education.
Where a student grows up in Washington still shapes what their school can give them. Better-funded districts offer counselors, AP courses, college advising, and modern facilities, while many rural and lower-income districts are left making do with far less. We don't accept that a student's address should set the ceiling on their future. The young people who live inside these gaps, including high schoolers from the very districts being shortchanged, are organizing for fair school funding and real access to the courses, support, and opportunities that wealthier districts take for granted.
Democratic Access Decisions about young people shouldn't be made without them.
Young people live with the consequences of almost every government decision, from how schools are funded to how the state acts on climate and mental health. Yet most of us cannot vote until we turn 18, and the bodies that shape our lives rarely stop to ask what we think. WYA is working to change who gets a say. Through our Vote16 work, we're fighting to lower the voting age for school board elections, the level of government closest to students. We're also pushing for permanent youth advisory councils at every level, from school boards to city and county commissions to the state. The goal is genuine influence rather than symbolic seats, so the young people most affected by a policy help shape it before it becomes law.
START A CHAPTER
Launch a local chapter in your community and start organizing for the issues you care about.
FIND YOUR CHAPTER
Connect with an existing chapter near you and join the movement in your area.
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE MOVEMENT
Get updates on youth advocacy wins, upcoming events, and ways to get involved.
