San Francisco’s Conscious Youth Media Crew, a digital multimedia training program for youth in the visual arts and film-making, are hiring Youth Media After-School Interns for Spring 2012, from March 1-June 14 (14 wks).

Youth and young adults ages 16-23 are eligible to apply. The intern schedules are Tuesday/Thursday 4-6:30 p.m., and Wednesday 2-5 p.m. Youth Media Interns earn high school credit & $600 stipend based on attendance/project completion. Applications are due February 25th.

Applications can be downloaded here.

Youth who are interested need to immediately contact: Jose-Luis Mejia @ (415) 678-8856 or email: joseluismejia@live.com.

Source: Conscious Youth Media Crew, February 6, 2012.

Related posts:

1. Community Technology Youth Crew now accepting applicants for tech-skilled youth
2. Y.O.U.T.H. Training Project now accepting current and former foster youth applicants for state-wide youth consultants
3. Partnership for Children and Youth now accepting applicants for Director of Technical Assistance

The World Enabled/Pineda Foundation is asking youth advocates with disabilities to audition for a Global Disability Advocacy and Education Project. If you are between the ages of 12-30, you may be selected to share your voice in a user generated disability etiquette video.

For more information please contact Elizabeth Pope Program Coordinator, World Enabled/Pineda Foundation for Youth at: liz@pinedafoundation.org
The Deadline to Apply is: February 10, 2012. The Online application can be found here.

Source: Youth Organizing Disabled & Proud, January 31, 2012

Related posts:

1. Y.O.U.T.H. Training Project now accepting current and former foster youth applicants for state-wide youth consultants
2. California Coalition for Youth to host annual “Taking Action Conference” in Sacramento for youth and youth advocates
3. Community Technology Youth Crew now accepting applicants for tech-skilled youth

On Friday January 13, 2012, TAYSF had its fourth Young Adult Advisory board meeting of the 2011-2012. Jess Lin, Project Coordinator for the Youth Count! Study and Coco Auserwald, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF, conducted a focus group to gather input from young people about how best to conduct the study.  The Youth Count! Study is a UCSF study with homeless and unstably housed youth in San Francisco.

First, Jess began by providing an overview of the study and why they are doing it. The goal of this study is to understand how many youth in San Francisco are homeless and unstably housed and to find out what issues these young people face and how to support their health. Next she talked about the way in which we currently count the homeless in San Francisco and other cities. She explained that the “head count” method misses youth who are not literally homeless, youth who do not access services, and people who are not visibly unstably housed. She explained how this is not an effective way to count homeless youth and that Youth Count! Study will include all young people who are unstably housed.

 Next, Coco explained how the survey would be conducted and recruitment strategies. She led a discussion with the group to find out what would be the most effective strategy to get young people to participate in the study and what would make it worth their time.

 After discussing recruitment strategies, Coco presented their definition of homelessness and asked for the group’s feedback. The group provided input about who should be considered as homeless that was not captured in the original definition.

 Our Advisory members had great feedback that will be reviewed and taken into account when conducting the research. One of the key points that the majority of Advisory members mentioned was ensuring that youth are compensated with items that will be useful to them such as care packages containing personal hygiene products and gift cards for grocery stores. There was also a general consensus that programs should be evaluated from the youth perspective as opposed to the staff perspective, because youth are the ones will are impacted by programs and services.  Another important point that was discussed was the safety of undocumented youth who participate in the study.

We ended the meeting by presenting the Advisory members with opportunities to get involved in upcoming TAY-related events.

Related posts:

1. Notes from Nov. 4th Young Adult Advisory
2. Notes from May 13th Young Adult Advisory
3. Notes from Dec. 2nd Young Adult Advisory

Photo credit: Joseph Schell/Special to The SF Examiner

“Timajae Evans spent his teenage years in foster care, moving from one group home to another. When he aged out of the system at 19, he had to grow up fast.

‘It kind of threw me off for the first month,’ Evans said, recalling the sudden responsibility of having to pay his own bills and shop for his own groceries. Evans, now 20, lives by himself in a Daly City apartment. He is taking general studies courses at City College of San Francisco and hopes to become an auto mechanic.

But while he said he was thriving on his own, he was happy to hear about a new law that will let current foster children stay in the system until they turn 21…”

Source: Amy Crawford, San Francisco Examiner, January 8, 2012

Related posts:

1. After 18 campaign to spread word about extended foster care now available to youth
2. ABC KGO-TV San Francisco’s “Beyond the Headlines” feautres John Burton, former foster youth, First Place for Youth, and others to speak on issues in foster care
3. New York Times reports on drop in aid for child care while need increases

Photo credit: Matt Roth, NYT

“BALTIMORE — With states under pressure to cut their budgets and federal stimulus money gone, low-income working parents are facing a paradox. Just when they have to work longer hours to make ends meet, they are losing access to the thing they need most to stay on the job: a government subsidy that helps pay for child care…”

 Source: Sabrina Tavernise, NYTimes, December 13, 2011

Related posts:

1. San Francisco Examiner reports on need for youth in foster care to have option of extended care
2. Read the Root’s Article About the Precarious Lives for Many Youth After Foster Care
3. L.A. Times showcases state-wide extension of foster care starting 2012

Interview w/ LeaJay Harper, Program Coordinator for Young Mothers United, Center for Young Women’s Development
by Justin Slaughter, TAYSF AmeriCorps VISTA Research

1. What programs and/or services does Young Mothers United offer? For what age/population?

Young Mothers United advocates for young mothers involved in the juvenile justice system.  Mostly we work with young women of color, 16-24 years old, probably 70% San Francisco residents. However, we will take anyone from anywhere; for example, we take young women from Richmond, Oakland, etc. Our advocacy may include our staff accompanying a young woman in the Courts. When the young mother lacks family or any other support, we can be there to not only explain what’s going on with her case, but also be an advocate for the young mother’s character and potential, being her voice. We also do case management.

We had a huge poster campaign, called “Young Mother’s Bill of Rights,” which was our effort with other service providers to make sure that system-involved young mothers got access to prenatal care, other treatments, and education about being a parent. The posters are how people usually here about the Center for Young Women’s Development in general.

2. What makes the Center special from other organizations doing similar work?

What’s special is the Center, YMU, not only provide direct services to young women in the juvenile justice system, but we also do policy work. We make an impact on a bigger level. This process grew out of young women advocacy project, where we first saw the need to make specific program for young moms, that the system might not do on its own.

We train women who go through the program to advocate for the rights of other women who are still  locked up. Within our organizing group, our young women decide on what issues to work towards, for example, the Bill of Rights poster campaign. We make a policy curriculum to teach how bills
become a law.

We actually co-sponsored AB 568, the “Pregnant inmates and wards: least restrictive restraints” bill to ban shackling young inmates in labor, has been vetoed twice, since opponents said it’d be more dangerous given
with the overcrowding on county level. However, the we will try again to  push the bill through this year.

3. What are some of the Center’s notable successes?

Definitely having young women involved in policy making is one of our continuing successes. We have a couple of young families events, to give out resources to parents and in general celebrate parenthood.

In 2008, San Francisco’s Chief Probation Officer of the Juvenile Probation Department, William Siffermann  adopted the Center’s “Young Mother’s  Bill of Rights,” which was a huge success on behalf of our young women’s policy and advocacy work.

4. What should people expect from CYWD in the future?

We will have our annual Know Justice Conference coming up February 15^th at San Francisco Main Library, which brings about 300 youth, families and service providers from all over the bay area together to give them access to the tools and resources needed to navigate the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

Usually around mother’s day we have a young families event. We will host our Second annual Lobby Day in Sacramento. And on an on-going basis, the Center will continue to provide parenting classes, with pay for participants, and support groups for young women.

5. On a personal note, why do you do the work that you do?

A friend of mine who works at the Center told me is would be a good fit for me, thought I should apply.  When I saw the focus of young women of color, LGBT, and system-involved mothers, I felt the work was right for me. Having been homeless while pregnant with my oldest daughter, within a system not willing to help me parent, but a system ready to take my baby, I am happy to be a part of a program that keeps families together and gives young women the tool to take care of themselves.

Related posts:

1. Center for Young Women’s Development hosts weekly Young Mothers United workshops for moms 16-24 years old
2. Know Justice Conference 2012 to convene service providers and youth involved with justice system to give them free access to tools and resources
3. Young Adult Voices: Interview w/ Xiomara Galvan, Outreach Coordinator/Court Advocate of Reset, CHALK

Interview w/ Nadiyah Shereff, TAYSF Young Adult Advocate
by Alma Ruznic, TAYSF Young Adult Advocate

1.         Name, Age, Position

Nadiyah Shereff, 25, Young Adult Advocate for TAYSF

2.         Who is Nadiyah Shereff?

Nadiyah: Nadiyah Shereff is a 25-year-old African American young mother from San Francisco. Growing up in poverty, I have encountered many hardships
throughout my short life. However, I refused to be defeated and I refused to
surrender to a life that has been assigned to young, poor, African-American
girls like me. I defied being abandoned by my mother and father, cast into
poverty, and left behind by the juvenile justice system. I am a young woman
on the rise who understands that I am responsible for my own destiny and
that I can make a better future for myself. I grew up and continue to live
in poverty, but I am determined to achieve self-sufficiency and economic
agency. I am rapidly achieving my educational and career ambitions.  I am
the first person in my family to graduate from college and will be the
first person to attend and graduate from law school. I am committed to
using my personal and professional experience to become a better advocate
for young people.

I am a mother of a beautiful 4 year-old daughter who is my motivation for
not only crafting a better life for myself, but also for crafting a better
society for children and youth growing up in low-income, under-served
communities of color.

3.         How did you get into working with and for transitional aged
youth?

Nadiyah: At 15 I started working at Center for Young Women’s Development (CYWD), which provides gender specific programs and services for girls and young women who are system involved. I worked with CYWD on and off for about ten years, first as an Intern/Youth Organizer and then working my way up in different leadership roles, namely Sister’s Rising Program Associate,
Sister’s Rising Program Coordinator, and Education Advisor. I now serve on the
Board of Directors.

In 2009, I traveled to Washington DC to give my testimony to the Congress at the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security’s hearing on “Girls in the Juvenile Justice System: Strategies to Help Girls Achieve Their Full Potential.” This experience showed me I how much of an impact sharing my story had, and I wanted to continue using my experience to change things on the policy level. I learned about TAYSF through CYWD, and applied thinking it would be a great transition from doing direct service to policy work.  I’ve been here for five months, and have enjoyed working on the policy side of social justice.

4.  What can we expect from you in the future?

Nadiyah: I am currently studying for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) so that I can apply to law school. I am interested in pursuing a joint degree in
Law and Master’s in African-American Studies. I am hoping to gain admission
to one of the top schools in the nation. I am an advocate for change,
passionate about fighting for social justice.  I have dedicated my life to
making positive change in my community and society at large.  I haven’t
quite settled on what it is I want to do, it’s either litigate as a criminal defense attorney or a career as a juvenile justice legal advocate (focusing mainly on policy).

5.         What do you think the government, education system,
practitioners, and community organizations should be doing to support young
parents?

Nadiyah: I think it’s imperative that these systems and CBO’s work to help build
stronger families.

Related posts:

1. Nadiyah Shereff
2. Young Adult Voices: Interview w/ TAYSF Young Adult Advocate Alma Ruznic
3. Young Adult Voices: Interview w/ Xiomara Galvan, Outreach Coordinator/Court Advocate of Reset, CHALK

When: April 15 – 17th
Where: Embassy Suites Sacramento – Riverfront Promenade

California Coalition for Youth‘s (CCY) annual Taking Action Conference empowers youth and youth advocates with strategies to create change and improve the lives of California’s youth. It’s a chance to come to the state capitol to share ideas, energy and experiences with transition-age youth, youth-serving programs and youth advocates from throughout California.

Register for the conference today and book your room ASAP!

Conference Activities:

• Dynamic and Inspirational Speakers
• Advocacy Training
• Youth Art Gallery
• Awards Dinner
• Policy and Leadership Development Workshops
• March to the State Capitol
• Youth Rally on Capitol Steps
• Youth Forum

  Also, CCY is seeking proposals that present strategies to address challenges facing youth and the organizations that serve them. Submission deadline for proposals is January 31, 2012. Download proposal instructions and form here.

Source: California Coalition for Youth, January 17, 2011

Related posts:

1. Carol Liu Presents State Bill to Implement First-of-its-Kind Strategy to End Youth Homelessness in California
2. Notes from the March 11th Young Adult Advisory Meeting
3. Know Justice Conference 2012 to convene service providers and youth involved with justice system to give them free access to tools and resources

When: Wednesday, Feb 15th 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Where: Main Library, San Francisco, CA

The Center for Young Women’s Development, United Playaz, Youth Radio and Visual Arts Academy Magnet Program (VAAMP) invite you to its 4th Annual Know Justice Conference created by and for young people affected by the juvenile justice system and the foster care system.

This conference will bring about 300 youth, families and service providers from all over the bay area together to give them access to the tools and resources needed to navigate the juvenile and criminal justice systems in order to advocate for themselves and others. This is a FREE conference.

Register for conference here.

Individuals who have done extraordinary work within or in behalf of those involved in the juvenile justice system and underground street economy will facilitate workshops related to the San Francisco youth movement including successful organizing and base building, cultural competency and youth media.

This conference will engage everyone to “Know Justice” by sharing information and facts about basic rights when it comes to the juvenile justice system, education and dealing with the police.

Workshop topics:

Youth and Gang Injunctions in San Francisco & Oakland

Providing you with tools to fight for your rights and your freedom in the juvenile justice system.

For questions about the conference contact:

LeaJay Harper, Program Coordinator, Young Mothers United, Center for Young Women’s Development at 415-703-8800 #212 or email leajay@cywd.org.

Source: Center for Young Women’s Development, January 11, 2012

Related posts:

1. Free Toolkit for Service Providers Working with TAY
2. Center for Young Women’s Development hosts weekly Young Mothers United workshops for moms 16-24 years old
3. Interview w/ LeaJay Harper, Program Coordinator for Young Mothers United, Center for Young Women’s Development

“Juvenile crime rates have plunged in every major county in California from 1998 to 2010. The rates of serious youth crime are now the lowest since statewide statistics were first collected in 1954, according to the San Francisco-based Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice…”

Source: Karen de Sa, Mercury News, January 6, 2012

Related posts:

1. Gov. Jerry Brown Announces Suprise State Revenue, Reframes Need for Tax Extension for Coming Fiscal Year
2. Gov. Jerry Brown signs a revised state budget
3. California Coalition for Youth to host annual “Taking Action Conference” in Sacramento for youth and youth advocates