Community Leadership & Advocacy Groups
Select a Before & After School Program below to learn more
City Heights Youth Advocates (CHYA)
City Heights Youth Advocates (CHYA) is a year-round, youth-led program that engages young leaders ages 12–16 in promoting community health, safety, and substance use prevention.
City Heights Youth Advocates is partly funded by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Name: Zahira Alatorre
Email: zahira.alatorre@saysandiego.org
Phone: 619-379-6221
North Central Youth Leadership Programs
The North Central youth leadership programs—Mission Bay Youth Advocates at Mission Bay High School, Club ELEVATED at Canyon Hills High School, and Club ELEVATED at Clairemont High School—are part of the North City Prevention Coalition youth leadership initiative. Together, these programs empower students to lead, connect, and make a positive impact on their campuses and in their communities. While each club is school site-based, all share a unified mission and structure.
Focused on youth substance use prevention and peer-to-peer engagement, students take an active role in promoting healthy choices and fostering supportive school environments. Members lead campus campaigns, create public service announcements (PSAs), and participate in leadership development, public speaking training, school initiatives, and retreats. Students from all three schools also collaborate on regional projects, strengthening their impact across the community.
Students also earn community service hours, build real-world skills, and may receive letters of recommendation to support their future goals.
North Central youth leadership programs are partly funded by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Name: Stacy Chiles
Email: schiles@saysandiego.org
Phone: 858-496-8342 ext 230
Instagram Profiles
Mission Bay: @mb_youthadvocatesclub
Canyon Hills: @club.elevated
Clairemont: @chs.elevated
Parent Student Resident Organization
Founded in 2012, Parent-Student-Resident Organization (PSRO) creates meaningful resident engagement around issues including education policy, student health, and leadership development for City Heights families. The PSRO primarily aims to improve family health and language access through community and school-based family health services.
PSRO Successes:
- Advocated for increased funding for two additional counselors at Crawford High School, plus one more counselor at Mann Middle School to assist with growing student needs.
- PSRO parents have gained a stronger leadership ability and deeper understanding of school funding, allowing them to make their voices truly heard.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Name: Dan Nyamangah
Email: dnyamangah@saysandiego.org
Phone: 619-362-3751
The Collective
The Collective Coalition unites to safeguard the San Diego LGBTQ+ community from the harm of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. The mission is to empower individuals and instill resilience by creating supportive, sober-friendly spaces and intersectional resources.
Services Included:
- Trainings and workshops with a queer harm reduction lens, including Naloxone trainings
- Annual Sober Pride
- Annual Zine Fest: ‘Queer Health and Abundance’
- Sober events and meetups, including silent discos, Sapphic Spaces, and crafting events
- Monthly educational content and zine library
- ‘Queering Up Harm Reduction’ podcast
- Tobacco policy advocacy in the City of San Diego, strengthening the Tobacco Retail Permit program
- Cessation support through monthly, virtual ‘Quit Nic’ workshops
- Community engagement and capacity building within the diverse San Diego LGBTQ+ community
- Paid internship opportunities and college internship placements from local San Diego programs
The Collective Coalition is funded by the California Department of Public Health under contract #24-10095 and the County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Name: Meesh Mori
Email: Meesh.Mori@saysandiego.org
Phone: (858) 276- 8186
Sign up to volunteer or get involved here.
Website: www.thecollectivecoalitionsandiego.org
Instagram: @collectivecoalitionsd
TikTok: @collectivesandiego
"Queering Up Harm Reduction" Podcast
YouTube Channel
What I Wish My Parents Knew
What I Wish My Parents Knew is a county-wide safety, health, and wellness initiative aimed at supporting communities with a local forum. Communities are motivated to identify issues which impact their youth through targeted workshops, before addressing those issues directly through SAY San Diego resources, field experts, and gathering support of fellow youth, adults, and local leaders.
Services Include:
- Workshops for conflict communication and resolution
- Youth training through respective clubs
CONTACT INFORMATION
Name: Monica Moon, Shannon Stracener, Stacy Chiles
Email: monica.moon@saysandiego.org, sstracener@saysandiego.org, schiles@saysandiego.org
City Heights Clean and Safe Coalition
An advocacy coalition made up of 15 Promotoras/Community Health Workers and youth members representing neighborhoods across City Heights, along with more than 30+ organizations and community partners from diverse sectors. The coalition is dedicated to promoting safety and cleanliness and to preventing and reducing youth use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis in the City Heights community.
The Coalition is partly funded by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency and Price Philanthropies.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Name: Eiliana Miramontes
Email: emiramontes@saysandiego.org
Phone: (858) 289-7766
Instagram: @cityheightscleansafecoalition