By Evelyn Clark, Change Consultant and Racial Equity Trainer  Young people who have been touched by the juvenile justice system occupy many different levels within the behavioral health workplace. They are being hired for opportunities to serve in roles as peer support, family support, youth coordinators, specialists, managers, and other leadership staff. A critical goal of hiring individuals with lived experience in the juvenile justice system should be to enhance the work, the workplace, and the systems of care, and ultimately to enhance outcomes for youth and their families. But what happens when critical conversations and hard truths are avoided or prohibited? What happens when young people experience tokenism from systems and burnout from sharing and reliving their trauma over and over again?   In my role as a Youth Certified Peer Counselor, I have experienced and witnessed countless young people experience tokenism. In my experience developing youth committees … [Read more...] about We Need More Than Youth Voice . . . We Need Action!

By Elijah Tankersly & Adaminah Tankersly  only for her own son but for all children, youth, and families living with behavioral health challenges. She currently works as a Family Engagement Specialist on the SAMHSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Children, Youth, and Family Mental Health (NTTAC). Adaminah is also a member of a learning collaborative with Philadelphia’s Department of Behavior Health & Intellectual Disabilities Services (DBHIDS).   Elijah and Adaminah talked recently about his experience with crisis care and what could be done to make it better.  In this conversation, Elijah explains the fear, anger, and humiliation that he feels when crisis care doesn’t respect his rights or respond to his humanity.   From Adaminah:  I asked my son, “What are 5 things you want people to know about when you … [Read more...] about 5 Things Elijah Would Like You to Know