Winter 2008

Youth Leaders Convene at Summer’s End
By Steering Committee Member Nicole Demedenko

Youth in Mind’s first annual leadership summit was held September 5 - 7 in Alamo, California and was a huge success! This year more than twenty youth attended the summit and members came from as far away as Palm Desert on the south end and Humboldt County on the north. The youth ranged in age from ages 16 to 26, with a wide range in racial diversity and included representation of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) youth, foster youth, new immigrants and teen mothers. At least half of the attendees had not previously attended Youth in Mind events, which meant we grew our membership by 15! The summit was co facilitated by the Youth in Mind Steering Committee as well as Jamie Lee Evans, MSW and Youth In Mind project coordinator Nicole Demedenko. The focus of the Summit was to develop the leadership capacity and personal strengths of members and “meet youth where they are at.” We actualized this goal by providing a range of workshop topics for members to choose from including self advocacy, coping mechanisms, supporting family and friends with mental health needs and learning from mental health medical experts (including a psychiatrist and a psychologist). We also had a two-part policy workshop with Jennifer Rodriguez, J.D. And, last but not least, as a Youth in Mind tradition, we had lots of fun including drumming lessons, hula dancing, talent shows and art therapy instruction.

In November 2008 we have elected a new Steering Committee member from Humboldt County, Rochelle Trochtenberg. Welcome Rochelle! Youth in Mind’s Steering Committee will meet in November to continue working on organizational development and begin planning for our 2009 Annual Meeting and Leadership Summit. Also stay tuned for a Winter launch of our new website!

For more information, contact jamie.youthinmind@gmail.com.