Partner Spotlight: Boise Downtown Business Association

The Communities for Youth Boise Initiative spotlights partners on a quarterly basis who are advancing upstream prevention strategies to support youth well-being. For Fall 2025, we’re highlighting the work of the Boise Downtown Business Association (DBA) for their efforts to create a more youth-friendly downtown through business engagement, public events, and community collaboration.

Lauren Hamilton, Executive Director of the Boise Downtown Business Association, with Teen Action Team members at Alive After 5.

Creating a Youth-Friendly Downtown

The Boise Downtown Business Association (DBA) is helping make Boise a more welcoming and inclusive space for young people. Through a new partnership with the Communities for Youth Boise Initiative, the Boise DBA is working to promote a “Youth-Friendly Business” designation, which would encourage local businesses to support youth well-being and social connection.

Noted Boise DBA Executive Director Lauren Hamilton, “The business designation is an important step for both business owners and teens... it shows that the businesses have made a commitment to open their doors to teens, may update training of their staff to include teen perspectives, and have business practices in place to welcome everyone.”

This partnership is part of Communities for Youth Boise's broader upstream prevention strategy, aiming to foster environments where youth feel safe, seen, and valued. Lauren and her team have been instrumental in opening doors for teens to be heard, including inviting youth to present directly to the Boise DBA board.

“The teens at the DBA Board meeting were so wonderful! I appreciated their honesty that stepping into a forum like that was intimidating,” Lauren said. “It also brought to light how important diverse perspectives are on the board and how we might be missing some crucial voices when we talk about the downtown environment.”

Teens from the Teen Action Team pose with Boise Community Initiative Lead, Heather Allan, before presenting at the Boise DBA board meeting.

Building Momentum Through Collaboration

The idea to promote Youth-Friendly Businesses emerged from teen discussions about the lack of spaces currently available to Boise teens that support social connection. After reviewing the most recent Youth Well-being Survey Data, members of the Teen Action Team had many discussions and planning sessions on how to create more spaces where they feel welcome and respected. In partnership with the City of Boise and other initiative partners, the Teen Action Team worked with the Downtown Boise Association on multiple projects during the summer of 2025, including the Youth-Friendly Business idea and the Teen Tent at Alive After 5. This kind of partnership reflects Boise DBA’s commitment to amplifying youth voices and creating welcoming public spaces.

“The Downtown Boise Association is committed to making downtown a place for everyone—and everyone includes our youth community,” Executive Director Lauren Hamilton shared. “Bottom line is that if teens don’t feel welcome here, then we are not fulfilling our mission.”

Teen Action Team members discuss ideas to increase social connection among peers with support from community partners, such as the Boise DBA.

About the Boise Downtown Business Association

The Boise Downtown Business Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a vibrant and thriving downtown experience for residents, visitors, and businesses. Through events, advocacy, and partnerships, DBA works to enhance the cultural and economic vitality of Boise’s urban core.

If you would like to learn more about the Communities for Youth Boise Initiative work, please contact Community Lead Heather Allan at HAllan@cdh.idaho.gov.

For more information on the Communities for Youth Boise Initiative, please visit our main page or sign up for our newsletter.