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This year promises to be most active ever for the youth at NPA with well over 200 youth, more than ever before. Over the past year youth leaders from across the country have coming together to address issues of concern in their communities.

At NPA's Annual Youth Retreat last August, youth from 15 organizations went to Michigan to share victory stories and decide on what issues were a priority for the upcoming year with two issues emerging as the focus of this year's conference.

The first is school safety. From having poorly trained, unprofessional security guards with no real authority in the school to having to avoid gangs and crime before and after school, youth around the country are forced to spend more energy on issues that do not deal with the classroom and learning. The youth have invited a representative from both the Department of Education and and the Department of Justice to see if they are willing to work with NPA to address these problems.

The youth have also been working on getting a new bill introduced into Congress. At the Leadership Meeting in January, youth leaders were trained on the legislative process by a state senator from Illinois, who gave an insiders perspective on how to talk with elected officials. This scholarship bill would start a pilot project that would allow youth doing organizing with their local community organization to earn up to $15,000 for college or other post-secondary education. In addition to these issues youth will be involved in numerous other workshops such as jobs, immigration, safe neighborhoods, and toxics.