This past week, our amazing Laudato Si advocacy youth group, accompanied by our pastor, Father Scott Santarosa and our group leaders, Rosy and Maricruz all took a trip up to the state capitol in Sacramento to participate in the advocacy summit with Jesuits West Province and several other Catholic schools and parishes from across the state. Our hardworking youth had been preparing for months in order to have the right tools and words to advocate for our brothers and sisters back in our community about issues that personally affect them, concerning unfair immigration policies, ecological injustices, and the crisis of housing. They were dedicated to creating and planning their meetings with legislators by prepping and practicing their roles, ensuring that their points were received and heard properly. They got the opportunity to personally meet with Assembly Members David Alvarez and Jeff Gonzalez to present and gain their support on various bills.  Among the bills we discussed with legislators are bills advocating for taxation on detention facilities which hold immigrants that have been detained, making them economically unviable to run in California, and the advocacy for a bill pushing for the restoration of MediCal benefits for immigrants after they had been cut by the Federal Government.  Additionally, our Laudato Si Youth Group presented bills about the preservation of our federal lands from being sold or to prevent it from losing its environmental protections.

Some of our youth that attended the summit shared from their own experience that “true worship is to work for justice and care for the poor and oppressed”. Several of our youth admitted that they were nervous but that talking to the assembly members “made them feel heard and more confident that young people can make a difference” and that they reminded themselves why they were there, “for the voiceless” in their community and were motivated to advocate for them. Our youth were reminded to speak truthfully from their heart and of their own experiences because that is what matters. It is important to recognize that we are not just dealing with issues, but real people are being affected every day, whether it be immigration detention or lack of a healthy environment.  More attention and action should be put towards making a change. Guided by Pope Francis and his encyclical to care for our common home, this trip has reminded us that everything is sacred. Our neighbors are sacred, immigrants, the environment, families, humanity, hope, and unity are all sacred and we are all fighting for an equal cause for the future of our generations.

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