How Wide Angle is Supporting and Highlighting Youth During Covid-19

During Covid-19, Wide Angle Youth Media, a Baltimore-based CYD organization, is highlighting the importance of paying youth as well as lifting them up as community leaders in times of crisis. The unprecedented job loss is impacting all of us in different ways, but, importantly, it is exacerbating the economic inequalities that are already present. As Wide Angle Executive Director Susan Malone points out, many of the precarious jobs that are being wiped out by the crisis are also held by our youth: "these same jobs are also a main source of income for youth - a group of voices that remains largely absent from mainstream news. Many of our students help support their families, save for needed technology like a laptop for school, or are preparing to attend college in the fall. As we text, email, call and video chat with our students, [they] report over and over that they’ve lost part-time jobs."

Wide Angle is working to continue to support youth financially in difficult times: "While other employers are forced to lay off their workers, we’re working to ensure that our students still have the opportunity to earn money. Thanks to generous supporters during our fall event and End of Year campaign, we’ll have the resources to provide end of semester stipends for high school students. Our video and design apprentices still earn hourly wages through working on client projects and gaining virtual training."

The organization is also highlighting how Baltimore young people are using their creative skills to be leaders in promoting social distancing. They created a YouTube playlist that includes examples of hosting a virtual prom, well-being tips for teens, and more.

Learn more about Wide Angle Youth Media here.

Published: April 02, 2020