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Phoenix’s Story: The Impacts of Eviction in Childhood

By Phoenix Berry, member of the 2025 Housing Policy Ambassadors cohort The feeling of loss is something we all experience, whether that's losing an item, ourselves, or another. I first remember losing my housing when I was in elementary school. My family was evicted from our home due to a public nuisance violation after the police were called because my mother was attempting to flee her abusive partner. We lost everything from baby photos to [...]

By |2025-02-27T15:01:43-05:00February 27th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity|
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Statement on Passage of HB 291 by the Kentucky House

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – A justice system that promotes accountability, considers primary caregiver status, and reserves incarceration for those who pose a risk to public safety can be a win-win-win for family well-being, community safety, and the state’s bottom line. Representative Nick Wilson’s House Bill 291 seeks to do just that by requiring courts to consider alternative sentencing options when an [...]

By |2025-02-26T18:06:31-05:00February 26th, 2025|Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, Justice, News Room|
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Statement on Passage of SB 100 by the Kentucky Senate

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Kids flat out won today as Senator Jimmy Higdon's Senate Bill 100 passed the Senate floor – emphasizing the Member's commitment to youth health and holding those accountable who may jeopardize a kid's chance at a healthy, addiction-free future. In an effort to enforce the Tobacco-21 law, SB 100 seeks to hold retailers accountable for underage tobacco, [...]

By |2025-02-26T16:57:40-05:00February 26th, 2025|Education, Health, News Room|
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Statement on Passage of HB 291 by the House Families & Children Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Kentucky has the third highest rate of parental incarceration in the nation, with over 100,000 children having experienced the disruption and trauma of being separated from a parent. The Family Preservation and Accountability Act, co-championed by Senator Julie Raque Adams and Representative Nick Wilson, seeks to hold parents accountable for their actions while minimizing the negative impact [...]

By |2025-02-20T10:13:33-05:00February 20th, 2025|Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, Justice, News Room|
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Youth Voice on Enforcing T-21: “Every loophole in legislation lets addiction thrive.”

The following testimony was shared on February 18, 2025 at the Senate Licensing & Occupations Committee on Senate Bill 100, sponsored by Senator Jimmy Higdon.  Testimony by Delanie, a freshman at Boyd County High School in Ashland and a Youth Advisory Board Member at #iCANendthetrend: My name is Delanie, and I’m here not just as a youth advocate, but as a representative of a generation that is being targeted and exploited by an industry that profits [...]

By |2025-02-19T10:47:00-05:00February 19th, 2025|Blog, Education, Health|
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Weathering the Storm: Adverse Climate Experiences and Resilience in Kentucky

Many moons ago, before I was born, and when my brother was just a little boy – the sky one day turned the color purple and in moments, the wind picked up and my family found themselves huddled under an old pick-up truck praying that the wind would subside. That day a tornado hit my home lane of Hillsboro and turned my family’s single-wide sideways. To this day, whenever the wind picks up, my father’s [...]

By |2025-02-18T15:30:51-05:00February 18th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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Statement on Passage of SB 100 Senate Licensing & Occupations Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Kentucky kids have told us – as well as teachers, parents, coaches, and health care providers – vaping is happening among our high school and middle school students. And the reality is that, despite the Tobacco-21 law prohibiting sales of vapes and e-cigarettes to those under 21, two out of five youth nationally report getting these products [...]

By |2025-02-18T10:47:43-05:00February 18th, 2025|Education, Health, News Room|
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Make Your Voice Heard: Paid Family Medical Leave for State Employees

Paid family medical leave is an essential strategy for healthy moms and healthy babies. The benefits of employers offering paid leave includes: Mothers get to heal before returning to work after a delivery or c-section. Mothers have the time and opportunity to breastfeed their infants. Infants can spend time bonding with their mothers to establish a pattern of healthy social and emotional development. Infant mortality rates decrease. Families still have a steady source of income [...]

By |2025-02-13T14:47:40-05:00February 13th, 2025|Blog, Economic Security, Health|
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Statement on Passage of SB 17 by Kentucky Senate

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Freestanding birth centers give pregnant moms choices in their care – and the Kentucky Senate voted to support that notion today with passage of Senate Bill 17, sponsored by Senator Shelly Funke Frommeyer. By removing barriers to establishing freestanding birth centers in Kentucky, pregnant moms with low-risk pregnancies can receive perinatal care safely in a homelike environment [...]

By |2025-02-07T12:59:36-05:00February 7th, 2025|Health, News Room, Race Equity|
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Statement on Passage of SB 17 by Senate Health Services Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Kentucky kids’ health depends on access to safe and equitable care – beginning even before they are born. Senate Bill 17, sponsored by Senator Shelly Funke Frommeyer, will remove barriers to critical perinatal care options so that more Kentucky moms and their babies have the chance to thrive. Freestanding birth centers are small health care facilities that offer [...]

By |2025-02-05T17:47:04-05:00February 5th, 2025|Health, News Room, Race Equity|
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