Over the last year, the STAY Project devoted our time to and outside of our regional gatherings; to strengthening our relationships with other young people in Appalachia, to deepening and building out our analysis of our economic, environmental, social, and political conditions in the region by clarifying what we need to fully actualize a just and sustainable Appalachia for all people; and continued to identify what work we can do to get us to liberation. As young people living in Appalachia, we are experts of our own experiences. Here is what we know to be true heading into in 2020:
Young people living in Appalachia are struggling to thrive under the economic and social legacy of extractive industries like coal, gas, logging, tourism, etc. Those jobs broke people’s bodies and/or left and pharmaceutical companies flooded our region with opioids. Our local, state, and federal governments are trying to sell us prisons, small business, tourism, and downtown revitalization as the solution. We’ve got high rent and low wages because opportunities for youth are few, and often look like low-paid positions like Americorp/VISTA that exploit the labor of young people. We know that these are false solutions that rely on able-bodied workforces to work long/seasonal hours with low pay, little to no benefits, and that it will only replicate our current conditions and cause suffering, while lining the pockets of politicians and corporations.
The economic and environmental issues we face are compounded by acts of homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and racism, from members of our own communities. Trying to survive and just be young under compounding oppressions, while living with the legacy of extraction, takes a toll on our mental and physical health. Not to mention our access to healthcare is disappearing with the closing of rural hospitals and absurd medical costs. Instead of real transformative solutions, we get policing by cops and ICE in our schools, our hills, our hoods, and our hollers.
We know that culture doesn't shift in a day or even an election cycle, and that come November, no matter who is the president, we will still have to fight for justice. We are in this for the long haul. We know that no one industry is going to save us, and that it will in fact take many people using a diversity of tactics in coordination across the region operating under shared principles to realize our vision of safe, sustainable, engaging, and inclusive Appalachian communities.
In 2020, the STAY Project is going to keep creating spaces to connect youth across urban and rural divides in Appalachia to build relationships, skills, political analysis, and a vision for how young people are gonna survive and thrive in our region. Our opportunities are in our relationships and our kin networks that transcend state & county lines. We know how to show up for each other. We are providing strength and refuge in each other–– our resources are our relationships. We know how to invest in those relationships and build each other up as leaders.
In 2020, the STAY Project is solidifying our commitment to invest in Black youth leadership in our region. At the recommendation of the Black Youth Advisory Committee, we are making Black Appalachian Young & Rising a permanent program of the STAY Project.
WE STAN THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE POWER OF YOUNG PEOPLE. STAY members are out here making music, creating art, and celebrating despite the challenges. We are using our cultural and creative powers to inspire and live out a vision of just and sustainable communities in Appalachia. In 2020, the STAY Project is providing platforms for young people to share their talent with our first ever Appalachian Love Fest.
We know that young people have already been out here in these hills doing the work. STAY members are creating revolutionary gathering space, leading electoral campaigns, expanding reproductive healthcare access, redefining sex education, pushing other work to be better, supporting labor struggles, organizing and getting resources to our people, etc. And y'all are doing this with the absolute bare minimum. In 2020, the STAY Project is going to keep connecting y'all with opportunities to grow as leaders and resources through our gatherings, and through our member support fund.
We know that we do not have all the answers and that we are not the first to do this work. In 2020, the STAY Project is asking our community, our members, our alumni, and our elders to hold us accountable and give us guidance and support. We are in this for the long haul.
We love y'all so much.
STAY tuned.
solidarity & kinship,
The STAY Project staff & steering committee
Young people living in Appalachia are struggling to thrive under the economic and social legacy of extractive industries like coal, gas, logging, tourism, etc. Those jobs broke people’s bodies and/or left and pharmaceutical companies flooded our region with opioids. Our local, state, and federal governments are trying to sell us prisons, small business, tourism, and downtown revitalization as the solution. We’ve got high rent and low wages because opportunities for youth are few, and often look like low-paid positions like Americorp/VISTA that exploit the labor of young people. We know that these are false solutions that rely on able-bodied workforces to work long/seasonal hours with low pay, little to no benefits, and that it will only replicate our current conditions and cause suffering, while lining the pockets of politicians and corporations.
The economic and environmental issues we face are compounded by acts of homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and racism, from members of our own communities. Trying to survive and just be young under compounding oppressions, while living with the legacy of extraction, takes a toll on our mental and physical health. Not to mention our access to healthcare is disappearing with the closing of rural hospitals and absurd medical costs. Instead of real transformative solutions, we get policing by cops and ICE in our schools, our hills, our hoods, and our hollers.
We know that culture doesn't shift in a day or even an election cycle, and that come November, no matter who is the president, we will still have to fight for justice. We are in this for the long haul. We know that no one industry is going to save us, and that it will in fact take many people using a diversity of tactics in coordination across the region operating under shared principles to realize our vision of safe, sustainable, engaging, and inclusive Appalachian communities.
In 2020, the STAY Project is going to keep creating spaces to connect youth across urban and rural divides in Appalachia to build relationships, skills, political analysis, and a vision for how young people are gonna survive and thrive in our region. Our opportunities are in our relationships and our kin networks that transcend state & county lines. We know how to show up for each other. We are providing strength and refuge in each other–– our resources are our relationships. We know how to invest in those relationships and build each other up as leaders.
In 2020, the STAY Project is solidifying our commitment to invest in Black youth leadership in our region. At the recommendation of the Black Youth Advisory Committee, we are making Black Appalachian Young & Rising a permanent program of the STAY Project.
WE STAN THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE POWER OF YOUNG PEOPLE. STAY members are out here making music, creating art, and celebrating despite the challenges. We are using our cultural and creative powers to inspire and live out a vision of just and sustainable communities in Appalachia. In 2020, the STAY Project is providing platforms for young people to share their talent with our first ever Appalachian Love Fest.
We know that young people have already been out here in these hills doing the work. STAY members are creating revolutionary gathering space, leading electoral campaigns, expanding reproductive healthcare access, redefining sex education, pushing other work to be better, supporting labor struggles, organizing and getting resources to our people, etc. And y'all are doing this with the absolute bare minimum. In 2020, the STAY Project is going to keep connecting y'all with opportunities to grow as leaders and resources through our gatherings, and through our member support fund.
We know that we do not have all the answers and that we are not the first to do this work. In 2020, the STAY Project is asking our community, our members, our alumni, and our elders to hold us accountable and give us guidance and support. We are in this for the long haul.
We love y'all so much.
STAY tuned.
solidarity & kinship,
The STAY Project staff & steering committee