In today’s uncertain times, many youth experience housing insecurity, unstable or unsafe relationships, and toxic stress. Social and emotional wellbeing can help these young people overcome adversity, heal from trauma, and build resilience, thereby increasing their hopes for the future. Learning and practicing mindfulness skills can be the pathway to increasing self-regulation, building healthy relationships, and increasing resilience. The question is how can youth move towards social and emotional wellbeing? During this webinar, we will explore some of the social-emotional needs of youth and how the Milestone Transitional Living Program in Utah utilizes mindfulness skills and the Mind Matters program in group sessions and in group homes. Join Mina Koplin, Lorri Lake, and Maygan Martinez as they share how they utilize the ACEs questionnaire, how they present Mind Matters content, and how they implement mindfulness skills in sessions with disconnected youth. Objectives: Participants will be able to: Identify the Social-Emotional needs…
Runaway and Homeless Youth
Join Dr. Kristen Plastino and Jennifer Todd from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio as they define trauma and discuss Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). They will explore trauma’s effects on young people as well as youth’s reactions to trauma. You will learn how they shifted from the existing paradigm to a trauma-informed approach utilizing relationship education. They will share lessons they learned in the field as they implemented their approach with over 100,000 young people over the last 4 years in San Antonio. Objectives: At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to: Describe trauma. Name two causes of Adverse Childhood Experiences. List three either immediate or delayed responses to the “Effects of Trauma.” List one lesson learned from the field. Presenters: Kristen Plastino, MD, UT Health SA, UT Teen Health, San Antonio Jennifer Todd, JD, RN, UT Health SA, UT Teen Health, San…
Join the staff from Project Rise as they share with you how they are successfully engaging the Latino community including youth and their parents in healthy relationship skills programming. Project Rise is utilizing Relationship Smarts PLUS (Sexual Risk Avoidance Adaptation) to prevent teen pregnancy, reduce associated risk behaviors, and promote healthy adolescent development among Latino teens aged 12-18. They are working in four neighborhoods of Los Angeles County where measures of sexual risk are significantly higher than the national average. In focus groups the young people reported learning: Communication and relationships skills including ways to speak with family and friends as well as controlling their anger How to be self-reflective including understanding infatuation vs true love and effective decision making skills Ways to talk with their parents or a trusted adult about sex and healthy relationships. Presenters: John Lewis, Southern California Director, Urban Strategies Guillermo Pichardo, Youth Advocate, Catalyst SGV Who Should Attend:…
Hear how three agencies that use different funding streams utilize relationship education to meet youth where they are in order to help them to prepare for healthy lives and futures. These organizations use Dibble’s programs to build protective factors so the youth can communicate effectively in jobs, set safe boundaries in relationships, make healthy decisions about their love lives. These agencies serve young people in schools, transitional living homes, and community-based settings. Attendees will: Understand the needs of vulnerable youth Demonstrate how relationship education meets vulnerable youth where they are Learn about best practices used in diverse settings Presenters Panel: Mina Koplin – Salt Lake County, SLC, UT (SLC) – TLP Funded Emily Spruill – Advocates for Children/Flowering Branch, Cartersville, GA – ILP through VOCA funding Reta Johnson – Family Center, Little Rock, AR – PREP Funded Resources: September 2019 Webinar PPT
When educating youth, one must be aware of their uniqueness as it relates to a variety of demographics, including the community where they are living. If youth cannot take the information you are providing and use it in their daily lives and in their community, then all of the education is for nothing. The evidence-based Love Notes Sexual Risk Avoidance Education(SRAE) curriculum is being used successfully in two SRAE programs that serve high-risk youth in very different communities – one in rural West Virginia and the other in New York City. In this webinar, we will discuss how, while these youth may seem like they are worlds apart, we have found that their response to this curriculum and relationship experiences are not all that different. Presenters: Torri Childs, MA, Field Research Associate who has worked with AMTC and Associates since 2008. Crystal Agnew, Deputy Director of Trinity Church, Peacmeakers Family Center Melissa…
For the past five years, programs across the United States have been teaching healthy relationship skills to thousands of young people through Relationship Smarts PLUS 3.0 and Love Notes 2.1. Now, The Dibble Institute is excited to announce that both of these evidence-based programs have been updatedwith brand new information crucial to supporting teens and young adults in today’s world! They respond to changing conversations and conditions spurred on by #metoo, #timesup, smart phones, and social media. Relationship Smarts Plus 4.0 and Love Notes 3.0 both feature brand-new, age-appropriate content on: Sexual consent Online pornography Sexting Sexual assault Drugs and alcohol – and their impact on relationships Cyberbullying Relationship Smarts PLUS 4.0 is ideal for younger teens, and Love Notes 3.0 is ideal for older teens and young adults who are at risk of seeing their personal goals derailed by troubled relationships, unplanned pregnancy, and single parenting. Presenter: Marline E. Pearson. M.A., Author, Love Notes and…
As a facilitator, the ultimate hope for program participants is to find meaning in curriculum sessions that eventually lead to behavior change. For some young people who have experienced trauma and adversity, the capacity to experiment with change can be frightening and overwhelming. By incorporating a Harm Reduction Framework into your facilitation, young people are given more opportunities to experience success, believe change is possible, and to strengthen their resiliency. During this webinar, participants will: Review and define Harm Reduction as a framework Discuss the benefits and challenges of Harm Reduction framework Review the role of resiliency and its importance in changing behavior Gain practical tools to improve resiliency for program participants Presenter: Kim Frierson, Training Specialist for RHYTTAC, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center
Learn from two experienced youth leaders who work with risk immersed youth and young fathers how they successfully implemented Love Notes in their settings. Clay Rojas from California works with young men and women in correctional settings while Avis Files from Ohio supports young fathers in realizing their hopes and dreams for their children and themselves. They will cover ways to 1) build rapport and connections with youth, 2) think outside the box to make concepts fun and interesting, 3) move from skepticism to optimism especially in terms of addressing dating and domestic violence. Presenters: Clay Rojas, Prison Families Aftercare Avis Files, Brothers United Fatherhood Program, Pathway Inc Resources: July 2017 Webinar PPT
Young people who have experienced trauma and toxic stress often have difficulty regulating their emotional responses when facing challenges in school, life, and relationships The Dibble Institute is pleased to introduce Mind Matters, a new curriculum to help young people begin to say, “I am not a victim of what happened to me.” Mind Matters’ 12 one-hour lessons teach participants to respond to negative experiences with innovative methods based on current neuroscience. Students learn to address their physical, relational, and mental needs. The skills taught in Mind Mattersare designed to be practiced over a lifetime. The curriculum is not meant to be group therapy or to replace psychotherapy. Rather, it is intended to be facilitated by paraprofessionals to inspire, uplift, and set young people on the journey of healing as they cultivate deeper resilience. Presenter: Carolyn Rich Curtis, MFT, Ph.D., Developer of Mind Matters, Founder of the Relationship Skills Center in Sacramento, CA….
Relationships, whether sound or not, are central to the lives of disconnected youth. When at-risk youth learn healthy relationship skills they discover how to make beneficial decisions about their lives, their romantic relationships, and their family connections. We will identify risk factors that foster youth and runaway, homeless youth experience and how healthy relationship education offers protective factors that empower them to make healthier choices for their futures. At the conclusion of this webinar, attendees will: Identify the risk factors that disconnected youth experience and the protective factors that healthy relationship education offers them. Learn how healthy relationship education increases social and emotional well-being as well as decision making for youth. Discover how the evidence-based curriculum Love Notes is being used to improve outcomes for at-risk, homeless youth. Presenter: Dixie Zittlow, Director of Outreach l The Dibble Institute Resources: April 2017 Webinar PPT
Relationships are important in helping youth achieve their goals and a successful transition into adulthood. Having the skills to manage healthy relationships can make a difference as youth make decisions related to school, employment, and pregnancy prevention. These skills may be especially important for youth involved in or aging out of the child welfare system. This webinar will provide participants with a better understanding of the importance of healthy relationships for youth in foster care. This webinar also will summarize current research and evaluation evidence on relationship education for youth in foster care. At the end of this webinar, participants will learn: Why healthy relationships matter for youth in foster care What types of programs focus on healthy relationships for youth in foster care Key program elements that are critical for successfully improving relationship skills among vulnerable youth Presenters: Mindy E. Scott, Ph.D., Deputy Program Area Director and Senior Research Scientist; April Wilson,…
Childhood trauma impacts growth and success in all areas of a young person’s life, including their capacity to form and maintain healthy relationships. How do we most effectively address the needs of traumatized youth in relationship skills programs? First, everyone in an organization needs to understand trauma, including administrators, supervisors and instructors. Then, we need to provide young people relief from distressing experiences by teaching them effective skills to calm and manage their emotions. Learn some modest yet proven programmatic changes that will enhance your organization’s effectiveness with young people who have experienced adversity in their childhoods. Presenter: Carolyn Rich Curtis, PhD, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Founder of the Relationship Skills Center in Sacramento, CA Resources: March 2016 Webinar PPT
Healthy relationships are important in “all” young people’s lives! Disconnected and vulnerable youth including Runaway Homeless Youth, Pregnant Teens, LGBT, and youth living in low-socioeconomic neighborhoods want to have healthy relationships. What’s the best way to help them achieve their dreams? Join us to see how the healthy relationship education curriculum – Love Notes – is changing attitudes, behaviors and lives of these most vulnerable young people. Guest speaker Vanessa Mejia will present a successful model of healthy relationship education with disconnected youth in schools, and community centers, as well as a shelter in Brooklyn, NY. Presenter: Vanessa Mejia, MPH, Youth Services Program Coordinator, Diaspora Community Services, Brooklyn, NY Resources: September 2015 Webinar PPT
Recruiting and appealing to young adults ages 18-24 can be challenging for a multitude of reasons. In this webinar, Vanessa Logan describes her unique “boots on the ground” approach for how to build trust with marginalized young adults and consequently is able to provide them with tools to develop self-sufficiency. Integrated into her approach is the essential building of healthy relationship skills with pregnant and parenting youth, empowering them to successfully parent or even co-parent when no longer together. With a heart for people, Vanessa identifies critical needs of the underserved and builds bridges by partnering with organizations and community initiatives to uncover resources and move others toward economic mobility and self-sufficiency. Vanessa has a voice in the community for what makes a community thrive: it’s people. Objectives: Through the example of Vanessa Logan webinar attendees will learn to: Recruit young adults 18-24 years old into Healthy Relationship programming; Build…