Bloom Kentucky

Positive Childhood Experiences: Feeling supported by friends

Positive Childhood Experiences: Feeling supported by friends

Did you know that creating positive experiences in childhood can lay the groundwork for lifelong resilience and well-being? These experiences are known as Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs). PCEs highlight the nurturing moments, relationships, and environments that build a child’s inner strength and emotional health. In the Bloom Kentucky blog series, we explore how we can nurture these positive experiences to support children across the Commonwealth. Today’s spotlight is on the PCE of feeling supported [...]

By Hannah McCarty|2025-04-02T12:01:15-04:00April 2nd, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky|

Countdown to the Together We Bloom Summit!

Countdown to the Together We Bloom Summit!

It’s hard to believe that we are just over a month away from the inaugural Together We Bloom Summit hosted by Bloom Kentucky on May 7, 2025 in Shelbyville, Kentucky! This one-day event will bring together community leaders, policymakers, and advocates from across the Commonwealth to focus on cultivating positive childhood experiences through policy and systems change. We’re thrilled to welcome an incredible lineup of speakers including: Dr. Robert Sege, MD, PhD, FAAP, is a [...]

By Hannah McCarty|2025-03-26T17:18:30-04:00March 26th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky|

Youth Voices Leading the Charge: Insights from Substance Use Prevention Focus Groups

Youth Voices Leading the Charge: Insights from Substance Use Prevention Focus Groups

Last fall, Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA), through the Bloom Kentucky initiative, conducted six focus groups across the Commonwealth to elevate youth perspectives in shaping the Attorney General’s youth substance use prevention campaign, “Better Without It”. With participation from 70 middle and high school students, we engaged young people from Mayfield, Springfield, Louisville, Hazard, and Covington, while a virtual focus group connected youth from Shelby, Warren, Taylor, and Boyle Counties. These conversations—held both in-person and virtually—provided [...]

By Hannah Edelen|2025-03-13T16:03:10-04:00March 13th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Education, Health|

Phoenix’s Story: The Impacts of Eviction in Childhood

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 Kentucky Youth Advocates|2025-02-27T15:01:43-05:00February 27th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity|

Statement on Passage of HB 291 by the Kentucky House

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 Kentucky Youth Advocates|2025-02-26T18:06:31-05:00February 26th, 2025|Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, Justice, News Room|

Positive Childhood Experiences: Feeling a sense of belonging in high school

Positive Childhood Experiences: Feeling a sense of belonging in high school

Did you know that positive experiences in childhood can shape lifelong resilience and well-being? These moments, known as Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs), create a strong foundation for emotional and social development. While Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) focus on difficulties and trauma, PCEs emphasize the relationships, environments, and opportunities that nurture a child’s growth. In the Bloom Kentucky blog series, we explore how fostering these positive experiences can support children across the Bluegrass. Today, we’re [...]

By Hannah Edelen|2025-02-26T17:09:57-05:00February 26th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky|

Statement on Passage of HB 291 by the House Families & Children Committee

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 Kentucky Youth Advocates|2025-02-20T10:13:33-05:00February 20th, 2025|Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, Justice, News Room|

Weathering the Storm: Adverse Climate Experiences and Resilience in Kentucky

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 Hannah Edelen|2025-02-18T15:30:51-05:00February 18th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health|

Taliyah’s Story of Losing Child Care: Roadblocking Dreams and Missing Early Learning

Taliyah’s Story of Losing Child Care: Roadblocking Dreams and Missing Early Learning

Every parent wants a stable child care option to keep their kids safe and help them learn and grow. Taliyah's Story My world was turned upside down this summer when the daycare that my children attended told me that they could no longer serve my two-year-old son. The director explained that my son needed more one-on-one support and that the center was too short staffed to be able to provide the care he needed. I [...]

By Kentucky Youth Advocates|2025-02-13T14:14:43-05:00February 13th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education|

A Look at the Family Preservation and Accountability Act

A Look at the Family Preservation and Accountability Act

On February 5, 2025, Kentucky Youth Advocates joined state Senator Julie Raque Adams and Representative Nick Wilson for a press conference in Frankfort about the Family Preservation and Accountability Act, companion bills that aim to support rehabilitation, keep families together, and improve outcomes for children. House Bill 291 and Senate Bill 118 would require the courts to consider alternative sentencing options when the individual has committed a non-violent offense and is the primary caregiver [...]

By Cortney Downs|2025-02-12T17:36:30-05:00February 6th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice|