2nd Annual Youth Prevention Summit:

Answering the Surgeon General’s Call to Action on ‘Protecting Youth Mental Health’: Cultivating Emotional Champions and Change Agents

NO COST

Friday, March 18, 2022 (Youth Middle - High School ONLY) from 9:00am-1:30pm

Wednesday, May 18, 2022 (Youth & Adults) from 9:00am-1:30pm

 PLEASE NOTE- Zoom link, Website, and pertinent information will be sent to you soon through email.

Audience: Students (only) may attend Day 1. Students and adults may attend Day 2. Adults include all school personnel, including General and Special Education Administrators and Teachers, Student Support Services Professionals, and other support staff

Presenter: Various Presenters

Description:

The two-part Youth Summit is a virtual experience that will build the capacity of students in your school to become change agents. With guidance from their peers and adults, students who attend the summit will gain valuable leadership skills and tools to support positive mental health strategies and protective factors that prevent risk-taking behaviors such as substance misuse.

Day one on March 18, 2022 is for youth only. Justis Lopez, CEO of Justis League, will open the day with an energizing keynote with live music. Then Youth to Youth (Y2Y), a student-led, adult-guided organization, will facilitate a series of morning breakout sessions. In the afternoon, Ty Sells and Javier Sanchez from Y2Y will create a space for youth participants to talk about the issues they face.

Day two on May 18, 2022 brings youth and adults together. The morning will feature a panel discussion of "I Just Want To BE,” a mini-documentary developed, directed, and produced by the teens of Columbus, Ohio's Youth to Youth Common Ground program. This project was developed to continue dialogue in our communities around the topic of racism and how it can contribute to mental health challenges. Then participants will work collaboratively on strategies that build on their strengths to create protective factors that improve mental health practices and reduce risk-taking behaviors. The afternoon will feature a presentation by the Student Equity Advisory Board and the State Student Advisory Council on Education.

Agenda

 Day 1-Friday, March 18, 2022 (Youth ONLY)

 9:00 am- 10:00 am - Welcome & Keynote- Justis Lopez

10:30 am- 11:30 am- Breakout Option 1 - SOS (Sense of Self)- Youth-to-Youth Adult and Youth Facilitators

10:30 am- 11:30 am- Breakout Option 2 - Everyday Courage- Youth-to-Youth Adult and Youth Facilitators

 10:30 am- 11:30 am- Breakout Option 3- Cultivating Wellness for Life- Youth-to-Youth Adult and Youth Facilitators

12:15 pm- 1:30 pm- Closing and Keynote- Ty Sells and Javier Sanchez

Day 2 - Wednesday, May 18, 2022 (Youth & Adults)

 9:00 am- 10:15 am - Welcome & Keynote-Youth to Youth Documentary with panel discussion

10:45 am- 11:45 am- Breakout Option 1 (Adult participants) - WHO C.A.R.E.s - Javier Sanchez

10:45 am- 11:45 am- Breakout Option 2 (Youth & Adult participants) - Clear The Air - Ty Sells

 10:45 am- 11:45 am- Breakout Option 3 (Youth participants) - The Outcome Workshop/ Having Difficult Conversations Workshop- Youth-to-Youth Adult and Youth Facilitators

12:30 pm- 1:30 pm- Afternoon presentation & Closing- Student Equity Advisory Board and The State Student Advisory Council on Education

For content questions, please contact Bianca Irizarry, SERC, irizarry@ctserc.org, or Christina Simms at simms@ctserc.org

For registration questions, please contact Emma Velasquez, SERC, velasquez@ctserc.org

This conference is a collaboration between the CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and SERC. Funding is made possible in part by a State Opioid Response Grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.