YOUTH POWER! is proud to say that we will be holding our 5th Annual Statewide Youth Leadership Forum on August 7-9, 2012.   

At this statewide gathering, we will be celebrating our transition to independence.  In 2012 YP! will become an independent organization run by young adults with disabilities.

As young people, we need to work together to ensure our rights are protected.  Whether we are in special education, mental health, foster care, juvenile justice or addiction services, we deserve to remain in our community and get the support we need with respect, dignity and human rights.

Together, we will sharpen our advocacy skills, build a stronger united network and have our voices heard.

 Syracuse, NY-On March 20th, 2012, ARISE of Central New York, in cooperation with YOUTH POWER! had their first ever youth support group for teens with disabilities. ARISE Education Advocate Michael Mapparozzi and Central RYP Colleen Deitrich collaborated on the group, with the idea that young people can run their own support meetings in order to get the most out of it. This idea includes naming the group and creating the group rules, to deciding what to talk about and what projects to explore.

The philosophy is that the best support groups are the ones where youth express their own needs and drive the group in that direction. It is also meant to promote self-advocacy, confidence, and empowerment in a setting where disabled youth are taken seriously and are guaranteed to be heard.

The meetings will be held monthly over the summer at the ARISE Building at 635 James Street, Syracuse. Refreshments are provided. Young people with any and all disabilities between the ages of 11 and 20 are invited. ASL Translators and other resources are available upon request.

On March 13 and 14th, I had the opportunity to attend the 11th Annual Youth Work Initiative at the University of Massachusetts Boston campus. This conference was sponsored by Health Resources in Action, an agency in Massachusetts. The event brought together over 200 youth workers from across New England and New York. Both novices and veterans gained knowledge from experts and one another through some 40 seminars like "Supporting Newly Immigrated Youth and Families" or "The Mirror: How We Influence Behavior." Multiple perspectives were represented at this conference, including those of police officers, social workers, community organizers and city planners. The uniting theme was everyone's passion for including youth and youth voice in their work. I had the opportunity to meet a police officer from Cambridge Massachusetts who works with youth involved in the justice system. His approach - and that of the police department - is innovative: they will often work with a youth outside of the juvenile justice system so that a youth can make amends without becoming involved in the system. I also met a student from Cornell who is a graduate student in city planning and she works to incorporate youth voice into the city planning process.

The workshops I attended were very useful for my professional work. One of the workshops used case studies to get youth workers to exchange stories and best practices and another workshop was an overview on the laws and regulations associated with the juvenile justice system. This was a great experience and I benefited greatly from being able to attend.