Hope Eduan Alica saw how systems could fail people. At YPP, she learned how to influence those systems through policy change.
When working in social services in her early 20s, Hope Eduan Alica found herself running into the same dead end when helping clients get legal aid, find housing, or navigate the criminal justice system. She heard some version of the same refrain each time: “I can’t help you, because that’s what the policy or law is.”
Then, she came across the LEVEL Youth Policy Program (YPP), which promised to teach young people how to influence public policy. “This is my moment!” she thought. The program seemed to hold the knowledge she needed to address the barriers her clients faced.
Turn your lived experience into social change
Hope now works at the office of an MLA, an elected official in the provincial government. YPP helped her understand that her lived experience as an international student and frontline worker was closely entwined with public policy work. “When you work on the frontlines with marginalized groups, you see how service gaps are actually policy gaps,” she said.
Hope encourages young people with a migration journey and those who have done social services work to apply for LEVEL YPP. “As people of colour and immigrants, our experiences are not as common as we would like to think. Being in this space will allow you to learn about other people’s experiences, and you may in turn encourage someone else to join the program.”
Find community – and maybe even your next move
Hope found a welcoming community at the LEVEL Youth Policy Program, and it made her realize she had more to offer than she previously thought.
Her path looked different from many of her peers. Because of her immigration circumstances, she had to start working sooner and started her bachelor’s degree much later than her peers back home in Uganda. At times, she worried she was falling behind everyone else.
But her peers and faculty at the program helped her see these experiences differently. Rather than being something to overcome or hide, she realized it gave her insight into problems that others might not encounter. This enriched how she contributes to conversations about addressing barriers and changing public policy.
Relatedly, she gained a sense of direction for where she might go next. Every participant must complete a policy ask as part of their final project, which includes researching an issue, understanding who the right people are to solve it, and proposing recommendations to them.
Hope’s policy project: Model for Collaboration to Address the Safety and Rights of Sex Workers Prioritizing Their Voices
With this under her belt, she requested a transfer to the policy department within the SFU student union. Until she graduated in 2024 from SFU with a bachelor’s in sociology, she supported the team in drafting policy asks on issues important to the SFU student population and brought an important perspective as an international student herself.
Apply for the LEVEL Youth Policy Program
Applications for the LEVEL Youth Policy Program 2027 cohort are now open. We welcome applications from youth between 19 and 29 years old living in B.C., and who are Indigenous, a racialized immigrant, or a racialized refugee.
| Apply now |
See also:
FAQ about LEVEL Youth Policy Program