Health Promotion Council’s Advocacy Institute (Ai) hosted a premiere of Our Seat, Our Say: Youth-led Action for Gun Violence Prevention, a short documentary elevating the voices of young people working to address gun violence in Philadelphia through advocacy, dialogue and community action.
The documentary reflects Ai’s commitment to high-quality, youth-centered programming that trusts young people as experts of their own experiences and equips them with the tools to lead change in their communities. Youth advocates speak candidly in the film about grief, safety, accountability, healing, and the importance of adults sharing power in decisions that affect young people’s lives.
During a post-screening discussion, Ai youth advocates Lawrence Harris, Venya “Bryan” Ibeme, Damiree Mackley, Kiara Maldonado, Kristen Taylor, and Joshua Thevenin expanded on the themes of the documentary.
The film grew out of a youth-led roundtable in June 2025 through Ai Philly Peace Ambassadors, Ai’s youth violence prevention program. The event gathered youth advocates, community stakeholders, public health professionals and policymakers to discuss the impact of gun violence on Philadelphia’s young people, families and neighborhoods through a public health lens.
The process of developing the roundtable drove the messaging throughout. Youth focus groups, conducted in partnership with PHMC’s Research & Evaluation Group, informed the documentary’s themes. Youth advocates worked with Ai staff to review the data, identify priorities, and develop the panel questions and talking points. The result was a conversation rooted in research, lived experience and authentic youth leadership.
The project was developed with director Alex Hamer III of MainLine Focus and producer Marcia Perry Dix of Perry Media Group, whose storytelling helped capture the honesty and urgency of the conversation. Support was provided by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s Injury Prevention Program, alongside Youth Health Corps partners YEAH Philly and The Design Fellowship.
The film also serves as a call to action, encouraging partners, funders and community leaders to invest in authentic youth-adult partnership. As one of the film’s central messages reminds viewers: when youth have love and trust to lead, communities have peace.
The conversation doesn’t end here. HPC and Ai look forward to bringing Our Seat, Our Say to communities across the city and creating more opportunities for youth voice, dialogue, and action. If your program would like to host a screening and community conversation, please contact advocacyinstitute@phmc.org.
