Help Protect Vital Youth Services Today!

Now more than ever, our DC youth need us. We are calling on all LAYC community supporters and D.C. residents to help us advocate for our youth. LAYC is deeply concerned about proposed cuts to the District’s FY2026 budget, which could result in significant cuts to youth services. These cuts threaten critical programs, including community schools, school-based mental health services, transitional living for homeless youth, and workforce development initiatives. 

If enacted, these cuts would eliminate essential funding that supports some of our most vulnerable youth. Up to 960 young people could lose access to life-changing services, with ripple effects across the broader community. Here are just a few of the potential impacts: 

  • $211,000 cut to mental health counseling and trauma-informed care for 45 youth and 1,069 community members through early intervention groups and referrals 

  • $423,166.58 cut to after-school academic tutoring, mentoring, and wraparound supports currently serving 200 youth and reaching 2,507 community members 

  • $350,000 loss in workforce development funding, eliminating services for 30 youth 

  • Complete elimination of language-accessible supports, removing a crucial access point for many multilingual youth 

  • Loss of up to 18 staff roles, many of whom are trusted, frontline youth workers 

For over 50 years, LAYC has been a lifeline for more than 4,000 youth each year, providing education, workforce readiness, mental health, housing, and family support. Proposed budget cuts put these critical services—and our youth—at risk. When we invest in youth, we invest in their futures. Our team is actively urging the D.C. Council to protect this funding through testimony and direct outreach, but we can’t do it alone.

If you are a D.C. resident, click here to identify your Councilmember and get their contact information. Send a letter in support of LAYC’s services for our youth and their families. 

Not a D.C. resident? You can still make a difference. 

Share this message with your friends and family in D.C. Your voice can help amplify the call to protect the programs our youth depend on. 

It is important that we stand together with our young people to show that they matter. Let’s work together to make a positive impact.