Media influencer Jason Lee pitches youth program to Stockton city council

Stockton’s Jason Lee returned home Sept. 13 to pitch city council on a new youth development program to curb violence and increase academic achievement through pop culture.

“The I AM READY initiative is about giving youth the ability to seek ownership over their readiness, whether it be financial literacy, leadership, civic engagement, behavioral changes, it’s more geared toward understanding their home,” Lee said, “it’s there to make a difference.”

Lee, is a media influencer — seen on MTV’s Wild ‘N Out and VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood — and founder of the newly minted nonprofit Hollywood Cares Foundation. He also is the head of media and partnerships for Kanye West.

Lee came to council looking for a partnership with the city to “break the cycle of trauma and violence that has gripped our young people.” He plans to start youth-led after-school clubs leveraging pop culture to provide support and resources toward the mental health and well-being of Stockton’s youth.

“When I spoke at Stagg about a young lady who was murdered, the kids were so complacent with the feeling of watching their peers die in front of them — it was really difficult to digest,” Lee said. “That has to change, that is the single most important factor in killing the dreams and hopes of young people, specifically those we plan to target: boys and girls of color.”

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Though still in early stages of development, Lee has a vision for how he can impact Stockton’s youth. The Stagg High School graduate told council how tough it can be growing up in Stockton, and said he wants to see the ideas of young people come to life, whether it’s to become a nurse, an athlete or a movie star.

“I grew up as part of a single-family household: my mother was addicted to heroin. My father was absent. I ended up being shot in this community. I watched my brother get murdered in this community. I’ve been molested in this community. I’ve been in foster care and abandoned,” Lee said. “I don’t think (Stockton youth’s) dreams should die where their friends do.”

Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln’s office brought Lee and the Hollywood Cares Foundation to speak to council Sept. 13. At 42 murders to date, Stockton has had no shortage of trauma this year.

“What I gather from I AM READY is that we’re talking about true cultural change from the inside out,” Lincoln said. “It breaks my heart … I’ve sat with several victims this past year. I’ve had that round room in City Hall packed with moms and grandmothers here asking, ‘What are we going to do?’ … I know (Lee’s) story is a story that will inspire many others in being able to leverage pop culture to influence our kids because that is what influences them right now. It’s a powerful thing.”

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The city is also wrapping up the search for community partners for the pilot youth workforce development program. Lincoln said he’s booked through the year to speak at Stockton schools and mentor students to talk about choices, potential and leadership.

“The school district has our students for 180 days, there’s still 185 more to invest in our young people,” Lincoln said. “We work with education partners to improve quality of life, increase literacy, workforce development and expand youth programming … I feel this initiative here. I see the potential of leading that type of cultural change to heal our city from the inside out.”

Lee's proposal drew support from Stockton city councilmembers.

“I think about the kids at my school, how many of them don’t have anyone saying (I love you) for them and how heartbreaking that is … how lonely they must be and how they act out because they don’t know how to deal with it,” a tearful Councilmember Christina Fugazi said. “We really aren’t a youth friendly city. Kids don’t feel safe going to the community centers, the parks, the mall — they don’t feel safe at school ... I think we need to be all hands on deck and this is what we need to be doing.”

Councilmember Kimberly Warmsley said she lost the father of her children to gun violence in Stockton. She said she witnessed a drive-by homicide this year where she sat with the community and wept.

“A little kid said … ‘How can you help us? We need help. We don’t want to live like this,’” Warmsley said. “If we’re not pouring into our young people, what are we really doing? ... I think we owe it to ourselves, our young people, our community, and time is of the essence.”

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Lee said his foundation has been in talks with the White House to spur the program nationwide, and he wants Stockton to be the first.

“Nowhere better to start than in my own backyard where my family, my friends and leaders like you care about this community," Lee said. “It’s not just about opening the door and saying, ‘come in if you want to change your life,’ its going into the trenches and pulling those people out and putting them in an environment where there’s accountability.”

Lee and the Hollywood Cares Foundation are hopeful to get the program off the ground on a tight timeline: a pilot program with 250 Stockton youth by Spring 2023 led by Stockton-grown leaders. Council directed City Manager Harry Black to discuss specifics with the Hollywood Cares Foundation and return to council with an update in 45 days.

Record reporter Ben Irwin covers Stockton and San Joaquin County government. He can be reached at birwin@recordnet.com or on Twitter @B1rwin. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow. 

This article originally appeared on The Record: Jason Lee pitches youth program to Stockton city council