Elijah Lee | 2024 National Crime Victims' Service Awards

ELIJAH LEE: The foundation of what I do has become the fact that we do not exist in this world alone. It's my job as a community member to help those around me and to help those that don't always have a voice. 

When I was in the first grade, a friend of mine told me that she was being abused. I saw someone that had experienced pain that I saw as preventable. 

When I was 10, I led my very first child abuse awareness march. My community rallied behind our young people. I was able to say that we have the ability to make change on this issue. Forward together, not one step back. 

And to this day, I see justice as community. I see justice as love. I see justice as empathy. There was this massive part of me that said that we just had to do more. 

We pulled together young people, and together we formed Hear Our Voices. We were talking to our chief of police one day, and I was really curious about what happens once a child is found to be in an abusive situation. What happens? 

And he told me that they were brought to the hospital room. That was a moment where we decided to recreate these hospital rooms and to establish a safe space ensuring that there was a space for young people who have just experienced horrendous traumas to go. 

We were creating rooms built for young people by young people. 

Hear Our Voices is an organization dedicated to the empowerment of young people by encouraging them to get involved. And so, if a young person is passionate about an issue, they can come to us, tell us what you want to do, and we're gonna help you every single step of the way. 

Young people have not always been heard, and I think legislative advocacy is a great way to change that. This past summer we were able to get 13 bills introduced. They were all focused on, how do we ensure that we're creating a world where young people can thrive? 

I'm really, really proud to be able to live in a space and to work in a space where victims are a number-one priority.