Nikkita Oliver discusses the Youth Achievement Center and Creative Justice

Nikkita Oliver on the set of the #MorningUpdateShow (Photo Jake Gravbrot)

Executive Director of Creative Justice Nikkita Oliver stopped by the #MorningUpdateShow on Wednesday to discuss the development of the Youth Achievement Center. 

They said the project to build the YAC has been intentional and will create meaningful community impact. One way that has been seen is through the decision to hire Africatown Community Land Trust as the developer. 

“We knew we wanted to work with a Black developer,” Oliver said. “We also knew that we wanted the young folks to play a role in what the building looks like.”

Oliver said that the youth the center is intended to benefit have worked closely with the architects to ensure the design is as practical as possible. This process has also allowed youth to gain architectural skills and get a first hand look into the process. 

The YAC itself was born out of a youth consortium between Creative Justice, Community Passageways and the Rainier Beach Action Coalition, where young people from around the city were able to come together and express their feelings on what should be done to help them succeed. 

“I think that it is a very powerful thing to have young people be able to say ‘I built that, this is my place’,” Oliver said. “Their brilliance is literally leading the project.”

Creative Justice itself came out of a desire to support the youth and cut down on what Oliver calls the ‘public health crisis of gun violence’. They hope that by giving kids another outlet to express themselves and find a community that they’ll be able to grow and learn in a constructive way that is beneficial to themselves and those around them. 

“I think the Youth Achievement Center is a great model for that, not just because it's housing co-located with services, but also because it is land being moved into community care,” Oliver said. “It's being guided by those youth most impacted, and it's going to have longevity in our community. It's something we can both be proud of and use to heal ourselves.”

If you’d like to support Creative Justice and the Youth Achievement Center, Oliver also suggests a monthly donation, adding that they really want to see this project be built for the community by the community, and they believe community funding is a great way to do that. 

You can visit Creative Justice’s website here and the Youth Achievement Center here