When Daniel Lloyd of Wyandanch realized that many people in their 20s and 30s were largely unaware of social issues affecting them, he decided to step up and start organizing his peers.
So three years ago the entrepreneur founded the nonprofit Minority Millennials, Inc. a grassroots organization that advocates for millennials — those between ages 24 and 38 — who are people of color on Long Island. The group’s initiatives include voter enrollment drives, polling, and career mentoring.
“We are looking to get more representation for the future,” Lloyd says. “It’s all about changing the narrative in a grand sense.”
Minority Millennials has around 20 volunteers who aim to train future leaders and develop initiatives to build wealth, home ownership, and political equity.
While the organization is currently focused on aiding the segment of the millennial generation who are minorities, Lloyd says that there are also programs in place to help engage minorities who are part of Generation Z — those 24 and younger.
Among the areas Lloyd hopes to affect change in is the core issue of affordable housing, the lack of which on LI has contributed to the region’s brain drain as young people continue to move away to places with a lower cost of living.
“There are a lot of nuances when it comes to mixed-use housing,” Lloyd says. “While it works for some people, there are other programs that I feel could be implemented throughout Long Island that would appeal to millennials, developers, and residents in the affected areas.”
He noted the Safe, Mixed-income, Accessible, Reasonably-priced, and Transit-oriented. (SMART) housing program that the city of Austin, Texas created to assist students who are either receiving financial aid or who are paying for school through student loans.
“The SMART housing program provides a change to the narrative of affordable and progressive housing for a younger community,” Lloyd said. “We don’t want to transform all of Long Island into Queens, and this program ensures that the structures accommodate the basic needs of a millennial generation while providing a fresh living environment.”
To learn more, get involved, or provide a donation, visit minoritymillennials.org
