About Student Voices

On February 12, 2025, more than 100 young people and dozens of local leaders and decision-makers, including elected officials, law enforcement, public health professionals, and community service providers, came together for Student Voices, a youth empowerment project of Impact Sac. Student Voices is designed to engage Sacramento-area students as “teen experts” and connect them to people in positions of influence who collectively have the resources to enact positive, youth-centered solutions to teen health, safety, and wellness issues.

This report provides a qualitative summary of the insights, inspirations, and priorities lifted up by young people through small group discussions about their lived experiences with violence, substance use, and mental health and what it takes to create healthier and safer environments. Discussions were facilitated by researchers from the UC Davis Centers for Violence Prevention and other adult stakeholders with the goal of leveraging youth wisdom to identify the activities and services necessary for young people, families, and communities to thrive.

EMPOWERING YOUTH THROUGH RESEARCH

Over the eight weeks preceding this report’s release, five “youth researchers” worked alongside the UC Davis team to review themes, help interpret findings, and identify priorities. Through this process, youth received foundational training in research, participatory inquiry, and data interpretation while contributing to ongoing reflection on the past year’s Student Voices findings and preparation for future events by helping identify questions and issues that should be explored in future discussions.

The youth researchers deepened interpretation of the 2025 Student Voices findings by highlighting ideas they felt adults often overlook or misunderstand, offering context and framing grounded in lived experience, and elevating concepts that felt most important to young people’s everyday realities.

Biographies of all five youth researchers can be found on page 24 of the report.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. "There's always a reason" Youth emphasize the need for trauma-response approaches that address the root causes of harm.
2. “I’m not heard until it actually happens” Youth want proactive, relationship-centered responses that match the situation and prevent problems from escalating.
3. “Not everyone has that perfect life” Young people want to be seen and treated as whole, multi-layered individuals.
4. “People have these stereotypes” Youth recognize racism as both a driver of violence and a form of violence.
5. “You need to be open to new ideas” Youth value open- mindedness, opportunities for self-expression, and inclusive environments.
6. “I think you have to balance it out” Youth seek balance between online connection and offline spaces that support their growth.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the young people who generously shared their expert perspectives and life experiences with us to help increase understanding and spark action to make our communities safer and healthier.

The authors would also like to thank report contributors Alexandra Dent, Elizabeth Tomsich, and Angela Bayer of the UC Davis Centers for Violence Prevention and Paris Dye, Terry Schneider, Zheriah Marshall, Kelly Bender, Courtney Martin, and Angelina Solis of Impact Sac.

Citation

Aubel AJ, Lund J, Brown D, James D, Marshall S, Talbot J, Vandenberge A, Kravitz-Wirtz N. Impact Sac Student Voices Report, 2025. Sacramento, California: University of California, Davis; 2026.

Learn More

• Impact Sac is a youth empowerment organization in Sacramento whose mission is to connect people to power. For more information, visit: https://impactsac.org.
• Read Student Voices 2025 Report