By Leondrea Johnson About a year ago, one of the staff people at YouthBuild Louisville told us he had an opportunity for a couple of us to participate in. When we met the first time with Kentucky Youth Advocates, the work they talked about pulled me in. They asked us about what changes we wanted to see in our community and talked about things that some of us had experienced - like school suspensions and [...]
By: Trent Cox, Health Youth Ambassador Mental Health Awareness In Youth The awareness of mental health is something that people may recognize, but oftentimes it isn't recognized enough. Mental health issues can stem from a wide range of things such as problems at school, work, or even in the home. Mental health issues are extremely prominent in our youth population. The National Institute of Mental Health states that 49.5% of adolescents report to suffer from mental [...]
On April 12th, two of Kentucky Youth Advocates’ Health Youth Ambassadors took part in the Kentucky Youth Tobacco Control Workshop hosted by the Networking for Kentucky Youth (N4KY) and #iCANendthetrend Youth Advisory Board. This youth-developed and youth-led tobacco control workshop was a full-day immersive experience which offered a chance for students from across the state to connect, network, and learn both with and from one another. Throughout the day, students took part in team [...]
By: Lyba Masroor, Health Youth Ambassador For many mothers, the birth of their child brings a new sense of happiness, excitement, and love into their lives. However, some mothers can face the opposite feelings. For many mothers, a new sense of depression may also impact their lives. This depression, also known as postpartum depression (PPD), affects 1 in 8 women who recently gave birth. So what exactly does PPD look like? According to the American [...]
This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal on January 27, 2023. By Tamara Vest, Eltuan Dawson, Cynthia Schepers, and Felicity Therese Krueger Current and former foster youth need both tangible and intangible resources to successfully transition into adulthood. Tangible supports are programs and services that provide a resource or assistance for young people such as financial support, housing assistance and educational opportunities. Intangible resources include those trusting adults, mentors, peers and even [...]
In September, 13 high school students from around the Commonwealth came together in Bowling Green, KY for the first time as the new 2022-2023 Health Youth Ambassadors cohort! The Health Youth Ambassadors (HYA) program is a statewide cohort that engages youth to learn about advocacy and policy, address social determinants of health through policy change, and advocate for themselves and their peers on health-related issues. The new HYAs met for a two-day immersive policy [...]
By Kiera Dunk Kiera and Speaker Osborne testifying on HB 263 before the House Judiciary Committee. Kami was a beautiful 9-month-old baby when her life was changed forever when the man responsible for her safety shook her so violently that she was clinically dead for 23 minutes. Kami survived... BUT due to the trauma, only half her brain remained. Since that day, she has been confined to a wheelchair, nonverbal, requires a feeding [...]
These remarks were part of the Rally for Kentucky Kids during 2022 Children's Advocacy Week. Watch a recording of the virtual rally via Facebook or YouTube. By Tyler Hunter, Child Welfare Leader First, let me thank each and every one of you all for attending today’s rally for Children’s Advocacy Week. My name is Tyler Hunter. I am from one of the best places on earth… Bowling Green, Ky (Warren Co). Outside of being a [...]
By Dana Cole My name is Dana Cole, and I am a new member with the Voices of Commonwealth. I chose this job because it is my passion to help advocate for other foster youths — former and current. I was in foster care for about 10 years, so I have been through and have seen some things throughout my journey. I think being able to advocate and help others that may not have a [...]
By Hannah Abdon I’m an 11th grader that has grown up in a farming community in Northern Kentucky where tobacco has been strongly promoted especially towards young people. While driving to my own high school, I pass four different stores that advertise tobacco products in their storefronts. Most of these advertisements are very close to my school. On television, many advertisements that I see depict Juuls in a positive light. They do this by comparing [...]
