HELENA — While lawmakers at the capitol are shaping new laws and future policies, a young group in Helena is also getting together to evoke change in the Treasure State.
"We have so many ideas, but it's hard to get them rolling into becoming a reality. This group makes it very possible," said Aria Comstock, a 16-year-old member of The Democracy Project.
The Democracy Project has been running at the Lewis and Clark Library for a few years.
You may remember not too long ago when some tweens and teens were making waves at the capitol by pushing a bill for more mental health resources in Montana schools.
Comstock said, "We all went up and explained why our bill should pass, why it's important to the teens in our community, and what makes it beneficial. It was a great experience."
"It was really inspiring because we did do something. We got into the legislature, and we talked to such important people. It felt really cool," said Blue, a 14-year-old member of The Democracy Project.
Democracy Project is run through Humanities Montana and is funded by the Charles Engelhard Foundation.
It's a non-partisan, teen-led initiative that allows young people to be heard and make changes to their communities.
Ten-year-old Democracy Project member Kolbjorn Carlson said, "I think it's a great idea for teens and tweens to express what they think."
Teen librarian Emmon Rogers runs the program at the library.
This year, they are doing the soft launch option of the program, which runs from now until May and supports librarians with building a teen audience.
Rogers let MTN in on the Democracy Project's process and how members choose their next objective.
"They hear their parents talk, so affordable housing was the one that got the biggest 'oh' in the conversation we were just having. Occasionally, they do want to talk about climate change; they want to talk about our house-less population and what they can do to help with that," she said.
No matter what is next for the kids, The Democracy Project walks them through how they can spark change in their community.
Blue said, "There's always been a feeling of 'How can I do that? I'm just me,' but I think after The Democracy Project, seeing how much attention we were able to garner, that we got that far, it made me feel a lot more confident in my ability even as still just a teen."
Teens meet every Tuesday from 4:00 to 5:00 PM in the library's Discovery Room.
There are a variety of Democracy Project locations throughout Montana, and you can find more about it here.
