This month, the City of Boise launched a new survey and unveiled a year-long project to recommend policies to the city that youth want to see implemented. City Council member Jimmy Hallyburton joined our City Cast Boise podcast to explain the new Youth Roadmap.
I see it as a different way that we look at everything that we do in the city.
Jimmy Hallyburton, City Council Member, Youth Roadmap Sponsor
The Youth Roadmap
The survey stage is the first of many, and the best way for the most members of the public to provide input on the Youth Roadmap, which will eventually be adopted as part of the city’s master plan.
“Now is the time for folks to get involved, and the process is just beginning for the public, so we’re so excited to get people jumping in here,” Hallyburton said.
Once the survey stage is complete, three advisory committees will be formed and begin their own work into the results of the survey. By the end of fall, they aim to present projects and policies to City Council.
The survey is open until the end of June, and youth along with parents and other youth-affiliated community members are encouraged to participate. Parents are encouraged to fill out the survey with children too young to complete it on their own.
A New Lens on the City
City Council member Jimmy Hallyburton spoke about working directly with youth to craft the kind of priorities they want to see.
Known by much of the Boise community for his work at the Boise Bicycle Project, Hallyburton said his time there taught him the importance of working directly with the populations most impacted by a crisis. “We really wanted to give an opportunity for our youth and our teens to guide a process that would help Boise set a long-term vision to address issues that would make Boise a better place to be a kid,” Hallyburton said.
And especially once the COVID-19 pandemic began, youth mental health emerged as a crisis in Boise.
In 2022, 38% of Boise youth reported that they were experiencing moderate to severe depression to the organization Communities for Youth. Two years later, that number had declined to 17%.
“It’s going to create a lens for the city to look through for all of our planning going forward,” Hallyburton said. “I see it as a different way that we look at everything that we do in the city.”
