We are starting to talk about topics that call on our personal experiences which can be intimidating so I wanted to remind everyone that nobody is required to share anything that they are uncomfortable with and that if you do share something with the YAB we are honored and appreciative of your vulnerability.
The YAB is a safe space and judgment free zone, and respect is one of our guiding principles.
Last meeting, we elaborated on youth homelessness can also make it difficult to get or keep a job and staying in school. We also discussed the free phones that used to be available, and I learned that they are still a thing! There is a flyer attached to the bottom of this email with more information! We had the difficulties of flying a sign to our list. This includes Extreme weather, having to get up early enough to get a good spot and no guarantee of success.
We also went over how having lived experience benefits this kind of work by allowing us to be a bit more compassionate, empathetic and understanding. Also bringing people with lived experience into this field can be very inspirational for the people being assisted.
I told the group that a few months ago I had the opportunity to talk to reporter Kaelyn Lynch about my story and she created a beautiful video piece with it.
Sharing my experience was scary at first but honestly turned out to be really freeing and I am so grateful to have been able to share. So, I asked the YAB how they felt about sharing their stories and we had a sort of mini vote and agreed to have a story share style meeting this Thursday! I’m so looking forward to the next meeting! Thank you all for your patience and understanding! As always feel free to reach out with any questions or comments!
We started out with a video that details my personal experience with homelessness.
Watch Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8yYUtBdVe0
Then we watched a video about Z’s personal experience and gave her a chance to elaborate on it.
Watch Video Here: https://vimeo.com/368380338?fbclid=IwAR3eyHB9VXHsSVxUDAIBnHhpb3ZiVc72KY4eGOeEiGA-mw_iAwdHe39dD0w
From there a riveting conversation was had about the fear and risks associated with being young women on the streets and we noticed a trend in our stories of youth experiencing homelessness feeling the need to lie about their age to feel safe which I found pretty intriguing.
We then shifted into breakout rooms where we asked our partner 3 questions about themselves then answered 3 questions about ourselves just to connect and get some 1 on 1 time.
We also decided to try out having a group Jamboard to connect and share ideas. I’m still working out the fine details of it, but it should be ready by the time I send the Wednesday invite! It was a pretty laid-back meeting and thank you to all who attended!
We will be having an Emergency YAB meeting this upcoming Monday at 4:15 a proper invitation will be sent out.
Please keep an eye out for that invite and we will hopefully see you all on Monday!