OAYI Youth Leadership Engagement—A Call to Action to Address the Impact of Opioids and Other Substance Use Disorders

One of the promising strategies to solicit youth input and develop meaningful solutions to address effective approaches to engagement and enhancement of systems support is to create a platform for the youth voice. In recognition of Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM), the Opioid Affected Youth Initiative (OAYI) training and technical assistance (TTA) team is hosting a virtual youth listening session, which will spotlight the voices of participating youth to gain their insights into the most relevant strategies to empower them, incorporate their voice, and improve youth outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

Understand how youth and families can be empowered to engage with their communities by developing intentional partnerships that identify and respond to the impact of opioids and substance use disorders, remove barriers to family engagement, and incorporate effective principles of family involvement while connecting them to opportunities in and out of the justice system.

Outline interests and areas of improvement for youth and family engagement in community services, activities, and programs that reduce the stigma associated with the impact of justice involvement.

Describe how social and cultural factors (e.g., race, gender, trauma, and social media) and the practice of treating children as adults in the justice system impacts the youth perspective and family engagement experience.

Identify barriers and gaps in response to marginalized youth and those who have been system involved while informing concrete actions that demonstrate a renewed commitment to youth justice.

Project partners, stakeholders and community advocates are encouraged to engage in this opportunity to explore the youth’s direct perspectives on effective engagement and the impact of system involvement. All individuals planning to attend are required to register using the link above. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with the event access link and session agenda following the completion of the registration form. Registration for the listening session closes on Friday, October 28, 2022.

Click HERE to register now!