We asked young adults about the changes they wanted to see in their community and we wanted their insight on how leaders should turn their vision into reality. After many discussions and engagement with Colorado’s young adults, trusted partners, and young adult-serving advocates, we learned about what social issues young adults are prioritizing right now to foster thriving in their communities.
Colorado’s Young Adults in 2022: PRIORITIES
Free College and Loan Forgiveness
Initiatives to relieve tuition costs are incredibly popular among young adults. In public testimony, the policy survey, and our roundtable responses, many Colorado young adults indicated strong support for free community college and loan forgiveness. Biden’s student debt relief plan was well received by young adults in Colorado, but due to historic inequities in loan servicing, Black, and Hispanic communities say it’s not enough. Free college is becoming increasingly popular in Colorado. Institutional-level free college or workforce pathway-specific “Promise” programs (which provide funding for at least the first two years of college) are being piloted this coming year. Some of these schools are already reporting increased enrollment, indicating that young adults are embracing this option. We will continue to monitor the success of these programs and advocate legislation for sustainable free college education. In 2023, we will be leading on a policy to increase our state’s financial aid application completion rates. Low aid application completion rates means that Colorado students leave about $30 million of federal/state aid on the table every year due to not completing the FAFSA or CASFA. We will also be working on a number of other policies to increase all student’s access to postdeconday opportunities.
Burdened by High Cost of Living
As the cost of living continues to rise faster than wages, young adults in Colorado cited increasing rent and housing prices as one of their highest priorities in basic needs access. In our annual Policy Survey, most Colorado young adults identified increased housing costs as a pain point, with 25% citing they have personally experienced difficulty in finding or maintaining housing. Many in the state are in support of policies to address the high cost of housing, and we are committed to working with housing security advocates on creative solutions to address this problem in 2023. We plan to support a number of bills to address the high cost of living for housing, medical needs, childcare, transportation, and education.
Protect Abortion Services
Young adults in Colorado have historically prioritized abortion access. Colorado was the first state to decriminalize abortion back in 1967, and the 2022 Reproductive Health and Equity Act enshrined abortion rights as a state law in Colorado. However, we will continue to face legislative efforts to repeal these protections and combat attempts to restrict access to healthcare. We commit to work towards protecting patients and providers from out of state lawsuits, ensuring Colorado remains a sanctuary state. Young adults are overwhelmingly eager to protect their rights to reproductive health care and bodily autonomy.
Destigmatize Harm Reduction
Young adults disproportionately struggle with mental health issues that can often manifest in substance use disorders. Unfortunately, the stigma around substance use prevents many from seeking or enrolling in treatment. In our policy survey, we learned that difficulty accessing inpatient programs and rehabilitation centers has forced young adults to consider treatment at the expense of their job, housing, and/or academic success. One young adult in our network wrote that they had to “choose between losing [their] job and foregoing needed treatment for substance abuse.” This likely results from both workplace stigma and inaccessibility, such as incompatible scheduling with treatment plans and a full time work schedule. Additionally, a small minority of young adults weren’t familiar with the term “harm reduction” or had concerns about decriminalization potentially “encouraging drug use.” This indicated a wider need for harm reduction education education and awareness. We will continue to advocate for substance use treatment options that do not further burden our criminal justice system by expecting jails to treat mental health and substance use.
Wealth Tax (for Childcare)
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) was voted into Colorado’s tax code thirty years ago. TABOR has produced a regressive system that prevents us from fully investing in public services like education, healthcare, transportation, and childcare. Young adults, especially those furthest from power and privilege, bear the brunt of this impact; paying more in taxes than their wealthier counterparts, but they also inherit a state with severely limited public spending. TABOR has resulted in historic underfunding of K-12 and higher education, public health programs, and prevents the state from developing innovative programs to address the social determinants of health (childcare, housing, food security, etc.). As mentioned, lack of access to childcare is a massive barrier to higher education achievement, and disproportionately impacts women and low-income families. In our surveys with young adults, 80% supported a wealth tax to pay for universal child care in Colorado.
Young adult input is critical to our efforts to pass legislation and lead social change. We’re addressing these priorities in our 2023 Policy Agenda, sign up for our newsletter to stay engaged in our work!