FUTURE LEADERS--Simi Valley teens participate in a forum designed to teach them about the workings of government through the YMCA Youth and Government program. Students have taken part in mock legislature activities and even traveled to Sacramento where they met state officials, including the governor.

Euthanasia is a topic close to Elizabeth Suffern’s heart. She developed strong personal feelings about the issue after discussions with her mother, a nurse, and the recent death of her grandmother following a bout with cancer. So when Suffern attended a teen government forum earlier this year and worked with other students in preparing a mock legislative bill on euthanasia, she was delighted to have something to contribute.

"I was really glad our bill was so complex . . . it’s such a delicate issue . . ." she said.

Suffern was one of 2,300 teens who participated in last year’s YMCA Youth and Government program in which she went to a camp and learned through role-playing and teamwork just exactly how real government operates.

Participants attended camp in November to learn the role of legislators, how to write bills and engage in debates. They assembled again last January, assumed the role of lawmakers and formed mock committees to emulate what real elected officials do in Sacramento.

Later, they traveled to Sacramento for a five-day conference where they held meetings in the Capitol and at a nearby convention center. While there, they met with the governor, the superintendent of public schools and other important state officials.

Jeri Armstrong, YMCA program coordinator, said almost a dozen Simi Valley students participated in the program last year, but that her goal is to have funding for 30. She wants to open the program up to Santa Susana High School students as well. Currently, only students from Royal and Simi Valley High schools participate in the Youth and Government program.

This Saturday, the YMCA is sponsoring its biggest fundraiser of the year for Youth and Government: the Summer Rummage Sale. The money raised will help defray the $1,000 that it costs to send each delegate through the six-month program, Armstrong said.

Jocelyn Bourgault, 17, is the local delegation president. She said the program provides an opportunity for students to get involved in government and have their voices heard. She’s participated in the program for the last three years.

"The program has made me the person I am . . . more comfortable talking in a group and [I’ve made] lots of friends I’m going to have forever," said the Simi High senior.

Suffern said that through her Youth and Government experience, she’s learned lessons in democracy she couldn’t have learned elsewhere.

"I’ll be much more aware of the issues going on in the government," she said. "I know how this government works. I’ll never go an election without voting . . . you see how democracy works when you’re in Youth and Government."

And, said Suffern, "I’m going to go [through the program for] the rest of high school."

The Summer Rummage Sale is scheduled for Sat. June 19 at the Simi Valley Family YMCA. For more information, call (805) 583-5338.