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PD & Me: Eighth District Youth Summit

Release Date: 2015-07-10

Councilmember Al Austin and the Eighth District Youth Ambassador Council present “PD & Me,” a Youth Summit on Saturday, July 18th

Councilmember Al Austin and the Eighth District Youth Ambassador Council invite anyone ages 13 and up to participate in “PD & Me,” a Youth Summit, featuring the “Why’d You Stop Me?” (WYSM) program on Saturday, July 18.

The purpose of the summit is to bring teens together to promote stronger relationships with local law enforcement.

“I am excited about this necessary dialogue with our youth and police officers in our community,” Councilmember Austin said.  “I’m hopeful that it will be an enlightening experience for all involved.”

The summit will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 18, at the Expo Arts Center, located at 4321 Atlantic Ave.  It will feature a “Why’d You Stop Me?” (WYSM) presentation by its founder and executive director, Long Beach Police Officer Jason Lehman and the WYSM team of community leaders, as well as role playing and discussion of different scenarios, a question and answer session, lunch and prizes.

“Our program is proud to partner with the Eighth District Youth Ambassador Council and present to the powerful future leaders of the great city of Long Beach,” WYSM Founder Jason Lehman said. “Our empowerment program is fun, exciting and educational and will assist in building more positive communication between police and our Long Beach community. We want to reduce fear and that is what we are about.”

WYSM is offering the presentation at no cost. The event is free.  As some of the content may not be appropriate for all minors, all attendees must be 13 years of age or older and written permission from a parent or guardian is required for all attendees under 18.

The PD & Me Youth Summit is being organized by the teens who make up the Eighth District Youth Ambassador Council, a youth group that meets once a month with Councilmember Austin and his staff to discuss issues important to young people.

WYSM is an educational program that has been deemed a best practice for reducing acts of violence between police and the community across the state of California by State Attorney General Kamala Harris. The program has also been recognized by the Long Beach Mayor and City Council.

For more information, or to R.S.V.P., email district8@longbeach.gov or call 562-570-6685. For more information about the WYSM program visit wysm.org or email info@wysm.org.

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