Among booths selling local produce, honey and baked goods at the Corvallis Farmers’ Market on Wednesday stood a table with a young man who just wanted to talk. 

Nate Lattanzio, a youth advisory council coordinator for the Youth Era organization, had an offer. He asked youth in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties who have worked with social programs to share their stories – and get paid $25 for an hour of their time. 

“We are paying young people to hear their feedback about what worked, what didn’t work and just overall gaps and barriers that they experience in receiving some type of care in the area,” Lattanzio said. He said it could include feedback on teachers, the Department of Human Services and other “youth-serving systems.” 

According to its website, Youth Era is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the service, advocacy and support of young people in Oregon. It offers virtual and in-person support by trained youth specialists while also collecting information. 

Lattanzio said the data Youth Era gathers from its interviews is made anonymous and approved before use by the organization and is shared with Oregon’s System of Care Advisory Council.

The council was established by Oregon Senate Bill 1 in 2019 to provide data on the needs of young people and families. The data and stories collected by Youth Era are discussed in the council’s monthly meetings. All meetings and records are available to the public. 

Lattanzio said youth-provided stories are important “so we know what to advocate for and know what to push for, and changing systems so they actually support young people – driven by young people as they should have been the entire time.”

Why is it important to pay people for their stories? Lattanzio said there are often councils asking for outside participation, “but when a young person goes there, every single person at that table, other than young people, are professionals who are being paid for their time,” he said. “Like, no, (youths) deserve to be compensated for their time?”

Youth Era provides free services and several drop-in centers across the state. These centers provide a community space for young people with gaming consoles, musical instruments, clothing and additional peer support. Lattanzio expressed interest in creating a center for the Corvallis area. 

He emphasized the importance of programs dedicated to youth support. “There are more young people falling through the cracks, and this can cost lives.”

Youth Era has been cited as a subcontractor in Oregon Health & Science University reports, and the organization has been recommended and cited in the Oregon Health Authority 2023-27 Adult Suicide Intervention and Prevention Plan. 

Lattanzio said the three most common concerns Youth Era hears from young people include not getting enough input on the plans designed to help them, finding the right help too late and not learning enough relevant information in schools. 

“And a lot of it comes down to burnout and compassion fatigue and these different experiences,” Lattanzio said of the shortcomings of youth support in Oregon. “As a council, we try to do a level of explaining why this harm is being caused while not excusing it at the same time. Like, it’s definitely a fine balance.”  

More information on Youth Era, including the form for sharing stories, can be found on their website.