As the lead agency for the Coalition to Prevent Alcohol-Related Harms in LA-Metro (CoPALM), KYCC hosted “Rise Up, Speak Out: A Youth Storytelling Night” on June 14 in Los Angeles’s Chinatown. Over 70 attended the event, which harnessed the power of storytelling as a tool for leadership and unity. KYCC’s Prevention Education and CoPalm address alcohol’s impact on communities and to devise strategies to protect youth from alcohol abuse.

Eight youth participants, ranging in age from 14 to 19, shared their personal stories of love, friendship, family and hardship through storytelling, spoken word, music and visual art. The diverse group of storytellers and artists are emerging community leaders who represent neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles, including East Hollywood, Echo Park, Koreatown and South Los Angeles. Free food and boba were provided to the first 30 guests.

“At Rise Up, Speak Out, we wanted to elevate the voices of youth and their resiliency in Metro L.A.,” KYCC Prevention Education Manager Mihae Jung said. “In our community, youth experience a lot of trauma and stresses—everything ranging from the immigrant experience, trauma from family and community violence, and financial stresses, but the youth are resilient. We wanted to provide a platform for young people to express themselves, their obstacles, and what they lived through in order to become stronger.”

CoPALM was launched by a group of concerned community leaders and stakeholders, with the support of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, to address alcohol’s impact on communities and to devise strategies to protect youth from alcohol abuse.

CoPALM serves communities within LA County Department of Public Health’s Service Planning Area 4.