The Suffolk Office on Youth is accepting membership applications for the Suffolk Youth Advisory Council for the upcoming year.

The council is open to students in grades seven through 12. The officer positions are renewed each year, and there are currently eight vacant spots. However, new council members cannot run for the chair or vice-chair positions.

Program coordinator Rickeda Fofana and returning council members will interview the applicants.

“We hope to have representation from all the schools,” Fofana said.

The council meets the first Monday of each month to discuss issues directly affecting the city’s youth and to discuss ways to implement change.

“We try to deter some of the things that they see and discuss the problems the youth are facing,” Fofana said.

Additionally, the council volunteers in various local programs and initiatives such as the Holiday Parade and Global Youth Service Day.

“We get in the community and give back,” Fofana said. “We are always looking to give back.”

The program began in 2007 as part of the city’s Youth Crime Prevention Plan. The original initiative, implemented in 2006, was an effort to appoint community representatives to formulate strategies addressing youth crime and violence.

Currently, membership applications are available on the Suffolk Office on Youth website at www.suffolkva.us/parks/office-on-youth. For more information, contact Fofana at 514-4503 or at rfofana@suffolkva.us.