This is a plea to vote for Pierce Transit Proposition 1.

I work for the REACH Center. We assist young people – 16 to 24 years old, many of whom are at-risk – with their education and employment goals. We help them find jobs. We provide paid internships to first-generation, low-income, college-bound students. We provide on-site GED classes. Since we opened in 2009, more than 5,000 youths have stepped through our doors seeking services.

Upwards of 90 percent of our participants rely on public transit to get to our classes and to work. Our youth already have enough barriers to employment; many have criminal backgrounds, they’re teen parents, they come from broken homes, they lack the education and qualifications they need. Let’s not make transportation be one of those barriers.

Without reliable, accessible and affordable transportation – such as that which Pierce Transit provides – our youth will be severely limited in the opportunities they have access to. If Proposition 1 does not pass, the effect will be catastrophic for our youth. I urge you voters to preserve vital transportation for those who need it the most.