With the ordinance targeting house parties with underage drinking, the youth commissioners advocated for education first—a class on drinking responsibly and the effects of alcohol for violators—followed by increasing fines for subsequent infractions. 

Even the very young are encouraged to express themselves. When the recreation department was building a new “tot lot” at a playground, it asked four- and five-year-olds to pick one of two designs by placing plastic coins in buckets as votes. “We wanted to get the kids out there and to [let them] know that it was okay for them to have their own opinion,” says Sara Papineau-Brandt, the city’s recreation coordinator.

By involving youth in the direction of their city, community leaders are also creating a bridge to their families, who may not be engaged otherwise because of immigration status or language barriers. Investing in youth helps everyone, says City Manager René Mendez. “If they see what they can accomplish,” he says, “then the psyche of the community is very healthy and positive.”   

Nayeli Gomez, 18, who worked as a summer intern at City Hall before heading to the University of California, Davis, served as a youth commissioner on City Council during high school. “It’s never, ‘Oh she’s young, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about,’” Gomez says. “It’s more they’re inspired by what we’re doing.”

Through her work with the GYC, Gomez helped devise plans to convert a former medical office in the heart of town into a “Teen Innovation Center,” a hub where students could hang out with a purpose. That purpose might be collaborating on a school project or honing new skills in music and art. GYC members toured other teen sites in nearby Silicon Valley to come up with ideas and have put together a proposal for raising funds. 

Magaly Santos, 15, whose family works in agriculture, sees her involvement with the GYC as a way to give back. “I just see how much my parents give to me,” Santos says, adding that she wants to put her knowledge and skills to use “to improve the city.” 

The community’s interest in youth development, as well as its willingness to collaborate, drew a former Silicon Valley software engineer, Vahid Motazedian, to establish the Wings of Knowledge project in Gonzales. Teens apply STEM skills in work with local farmers to solve problems or to help them grow better crops. Motazedian, who launched the initiative three years ago, expanded the project in Gonzales because of the reception he got from the city. “It’s just a fantastic place to get things done, very fluid and dynamic,” he says. “That’s how we do stuff in industry.”

Pride in the youth of Gonzales can be seen in banners around town that herald recent high-school graduates, heading to technical schools, community college, or universities such as the University of California in Los Angeles, Davis and Berkeley. The hope is that they stay connected to their community. “We’ve seen many of our youth who have graduated from our high school come back and are now working to make Gonzales a better place for their children,” says Mayor Maria Orozco.

In 2012, a county-led assessment of the health needs in Gonzales found that one in five people had no regular physician or clinic for preventive and routine care. At the time, Christine Ponzio was overwhelmed as the city’s sole physician and decided to merge her practice into the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (SVMHS). The health system, in turn, set out to build a new wellness center, with a local employer, Taylor Farms, donating $1 million toward the $3 million cost. “It was heartening for that to happen,” Ponzio says. Gonzales now has three full-time physicians and three physician assistants.

At the same time, a second nonprofit clinic opened that caters to farm workers. As more people are getting the care they need, both clinics are expanding and adding services, including onsite rehabilitation for farm workers. Lifted by a sense of possibility, residents in Gonzales are encouraged to engage in shaping solutions and owning outcomes. A group of about a dozen residents participated in a Resident Leadership Academy, convened by the Monterey County Health Department. The group, which introduced participants to policy development, engagement, and advocacy, “paved the way for more collaboration to come with the local residents,” says Carmen Gil, manager of health in all policies for the Monterey County Health Department.

City leaders, too, give people space to agree or disagree. One of the community’s most pressing challenges is adding more units of affordable housing. But the city had to table a recent plan for a new development after some residents objected to using a city parcel that had previously been earmarked for a community center. In the wake of the project’s rejection, city planners have invited residents to meetings and workshops to discuss all the issues that were raised as they work to address their concerns and revise their approach to the project.  “It takes work to go back to the community to listen, and be authentic about it,” says City Manager René Mendez.

In building a Culture of Health, the community makes intentional efforts to create a sense of belonging, security and well-being by drawing people together through efforts like the Friends, Family and Neighbors program, run by Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo and funded by the city and the United Way Monterey County. Recognizing that many parents rely on friends or family to take care of their children, the program hosts playgroups to allow toddlers as well as their caregivers to connect. Volunteers show caregivers skills and activities that they can apply to prepare children for school.  

Emily Rios volunteers for the playgroup, teaching children songs in English and Spanish. “As a stay-at-home parent or as a caregiver, it’s hard sometimes to get out and about,” she says. “Every other Wednesday, this gives them a reason to get out, to go for a walk, to get out in their community.” 

The playgroup, she says, is part of the Gonzales Way. 

“I know my husband and others who want to come back here and raise their families here because of that special Gonzales connection,” Rios says.