1. ALONG FOR THE RIDE Advocacy for Youth Transportation
For our campaign Mobility means Opportunity. As it relates to transportation equity, historically San Diego’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations haven’t exactly been the greatest proponents of active transportation especially for diverse communities like City Heights. Their decisions ultimately have been more Traffic oriented vs. Transit oriented (Free way expansion vs Active transportation)

2. Isha’s story

3. Opportunities in San Diego WITH transportation.
Torrey
Pines
Qualcomm
Pacific
Beach
SDSU
City Heights
Ocean
Beach
Downtown
City College
Imperial Beach

4. My opportunities
City Heights

5. My opportunities
City Heights

6. My opportunities
City Heights

7. My opportunities in San Diego without transportation.
Torrey
Pines
Qualcomm
Pacific
Beach
SDSU
City Heights
Ocean
Beach
Downtown
City College
Imperial Beach

8. Mission/Vision Improving Transportation in City Heights (ITCH)
So this is why ITCH from Mid City CAN exists. Our mission is to “Look at slide.” an one of our biggest campaign is Youth Opportunity Passes
Improve Access, quality of life and Mobility for our youth.

9. Youth Opportunity Passes (YOP)

10. YOP History School buses stopped running in 2008 in City Heights
Parents had to find alternate modes of transportation.
Kids were left unsupervised for long periods of time.
Community members organized
Mainly working mothers and grandmothers worried for their kids safety.
Contacted by Mid-City CAN
Solution: Free bus passes for youth
2011 ITCH Team was officially formed
2012 Campaign for YOP Begins – We demanded!
2013 YOP 2-year Pilot Program starts

11. Impact of the Youth Opportunity Passes
YOP Pilot Program
Impact of the Youth Opportunity Passes
Increased Mobility
Youth Opportunity
Pass
Increased Opportunity
Increased Safety
In the fall of 2013 San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) in partnership with Mid-City CAN, the City of San Diego and the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) launched a pilot program aimed at providing 1000 high school students with free bus passes for the school year.

12. YOP Pilot Program Findings (Mobility)
During a typical week in the last school, how many times did you use public transit to . . .
The Youth Opportunity Pass pilot showed that students who received the pass used public transport more than their peers who did not receive a no-cost YOP.

13. YOP Pilot Program Findings (Safety)
Experience with Crime
Students that received and used their YOP reported significantly lower levels of being victimized and/or witnessing a crime, bullying, or sexual harassment on their way to and from school.

14. YOP Pilot Program Findings (Opportunity)
Did you have/look for a job during the last school year?
As Mobility and Safety increases students begin to explore their environment more and find more job opportunities

15. YOP Pilot Program Findings
Students with Youth Opportunity Passes use public transit more than students without the passes
Students with passes experience far less threats to their safety than those without passes
Passes contribute to increasing equity among the youth by giving these students greater access to jobs and other opportunities, removing a brick from their backpack.

16. YOP Pilot Program Recommend.
Any campaign for universal youth transit passes should focus on the issues of equity, safety and environmental impact.

17. Youth Opportunity Passes Now

18. Why we are fighting for YOP!
Equity
Removed barrier to transportation
Assist low income families, starving students
Opportunity
Increased with mobility
Access to jobs and extracurricular activities
Environmental Justice
Climate Action Campaign
50% transit, 50% bike, 50% walk, 2035 mode share targets

19. African American Policy Forum
Equity
African American Policy Forum

20. Opportunity Eric Morrison-Smith Communications Coordinator
San Diego Workforce Partnership

21. Environmental Justice

22. How are we fighting for YOP?
Community Organizing & Civic Engagement

23. Community Power
What is power?
Sources of power.
How do we harness it?

24. Community Organizing
“However you do it, organizing is the process of finding out what people want as individuals, then helping them find collective ways to get it.”
Midwest Academy

25. Civic Engagement
The purpose of our civic engagement work is to build power within and for the broader City Heights community and Mid-City CAN in particular. With this increase in power we expect to see better and quicker results in our current organizing efforts and a safer, more productive, and healthier community.​

26. What can you do?
Pledge to support Youth Opportunity Passes!