Youth as Agents of Change Presented by Kimberlee Homer Vagadori, MPH Reduce Tobacco Use Conference April 26, 2016
Presentation Overview Provide background information on project and objective Discuss efforts to strengthen youth-adult partnerships Highlight strategies for increasing policy advocacy opportunities
How tobacco control programs in CA partner with youth BACKGROUND INFORMATION
California Youth Advocacy Network The California Youth Advocacy Network changes the tobacco use culture in California s high schools, colleges and universities, military installations, and other youth and young adult communities by providing knowledge, skills, and tools to create local change for healthier communities.
Youth Objective and Activities Objective Work with local organizations to increase youth engagement in tobacco control policy advocacy activities. Activities Technical assistance Trainings for youth and adults Resources Opportunities for youth
What We Strive to Do Source: Centers for Disease Control. (2010). Best Practices User Guide: Youth Engagement-State and Community Interventions.
Statewide Assessment 2014-2015 Distributed via email to all 61 Local Lead Agencies (LLAs) Questions: Working with youth How working with youth Activities youth are engaged in Topics youth working on Youth on coalition
Findings 59 of 61 LLAs completed assessment 49 agencies working with youth 10 not currently working with youth 48 agencies working with high school students
Does your agency.
Activities Youth Are Engaged In 38 29 23 20 20 10 19 17 16 11 5 Educa on Evalua on 14 12 Advocacy 12 7 3
Regional Workshops Four one-day workshops hosted in early 2016 Part evaluation, part education Focus on strengthening youth-adult partnerships Assessed Barriers to recruiting youth Barriers to retaining youth Challenges engaging youth
Summary of Findings Tobacco control programs engaging youth to do educational activities Majority of agencies are partnering with existing youth programs vs. coordinating coalitions Problem isn t just youth engagement and advocacy overall challenge with understanding meaningful engagement
Strengthening youth-adult partnerships to increase engagement YOUTH-ADULT PARTNERSHIPS
Two-Part Focus 1 Support tobacco control organizations in building foundation for youth work Engagement Advocacy 2 Train youth to advocate for policy change
Building a Foundation Assessing organizational capacity to engage youth as partners
Consider What can your organization offer youth in your community? What s their story? Why might they get involved? What are youth interested in? What may they want to learn? What skills do they want to acquire?
Creating a Plan Determine how your agency will work with youth Partner with an existing agency/group or develop and maintain a youth coalition? If partnership What expectations do you have of the group? How will you reach them? What can you offer? If youth coalition... Organizational capacity to meet with youth? Appropriate staff to partner with youth? Funding to support long-term partnership?
Recruitment Create plan for recruiting youth partners Consider why youth may want to be involved in a tobacco control program or policy campaign. What problems may they care about? What issues enrage them? Tobacco or other issues Can you connect other issues to tobacco? How can they benefit from being part of the solution? Create a plan for recruitment. Where can you recruit youth partners? Do you have any existing partnerships you can leverage? (e.g., schools, youth-serving organizations, etc.) Where are youth at in your community? How will you recruit youth? (e.g., activities, use of technology, internship fairs, etc.) When will you recruit youth? Ongoing recruitment, beginning of academic year, etc.?
Retention Create a strong youth-adult partnership Clear channel of communication Explicit expectations and commitments from both sides Keep checking in Joint ownerships of ideas and activities Balance between structure and freedom Common goals Passion Interpersonal relationship
Retention Develop a plan with your youth partners Determine how often you will communicate and how communication will be done (e.g., text, email) Expectations Identify when and where meetings will be held Structure of meetings Create a calendar of events and activities Who will do what by when Don t expect youth to drop everything to do something you need Define responsibilities for youth and adults
Retention Provide Opportunities Trainings, conferences, activities, trips Skill-based trainings Leadership opportunities Within the group Within your organization Among their peers Advocacy
Retention Keep it relevant Are youth getting/giving what they want? Acknowledge and celebrate your partners and successes Evaluate successes and challenges Regularly check-in with one another to determine what (if anything) needs to be changed to strengthen partnership and efforts
Engaging youth to advocate for policy change ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY
Biggest Challenge We Hear We can t keep youth engaged! You have to engage them to keep them engaged!
Levels of Youth Engagement Source: Youth Leadership Institute
Understanding the Cycle of Advocacy 6. Implement & Evaluate 1. Identify the Problem 5. Take Action 2. Gather Information 4. Plan 3. Identify a Solution
Engaging Youth in Advocacy Advocacy is an ongoing cycle. Involve youth throughout the cycle, not just the action piece of advocacy. Note: If there s no action activity, there s still opportunities to do something to support future action. Educational opportunities Leadership opportunities
Example TOBACCO USE IN PARKS
Step 1: Identify Problem(s) Problems: People smoking in parks Kids exposed to secondhand smoke when outside playing Kids seeing smoking as normal Lots of tobacco litter Kids and animal touching and eating cigarette butts
Why Youth May Care Siblings Younger siblings seeing people smoke in part (making it normal) Siblings exposed to secondhand smoke Siblings pick up tobacco waste Pets Animals eat tobacco waste Exposure to secondhand smoke Environment Tobacco waste Fire Family Loved one smokes (help them quit) Friends Friends experimenting with products Friends who use tobacco and want to help them quit
Step 2: Gather Information Youth in Santa Clara County did tobacco waste cleanups at local parks.
The youth advocates counted and recorded the number of tobacco-related items they found in their parks.
Other Data Collection Youth collected surveys to learn if there was support for smoke-free parks initiative Conducted observation surveys to determine problem and collect stories
Step 3: Identify Solution Youth brainstormed how to eliminate tobacco use in parks Solution: City ordinance (policy) that prohibits tobacco use in city parks.
Step 4: Create a Plan Youth and adult partners created a plan for advocating for the adoption of a city ordinance that prohibited tobacco use in parks. Goal: Tobacco-free parks ordinance. Decision Makers: City Council. Activities: (step 5)
Step 5: Take Action Photovoice project Educate community members Attend community events Distributed information Presented to community organizations and coalitions Media advocacy Letters to papers Opinion editorials Petition Present to City Council
Step 6: Evaluate Throughout their activities, the youth discussed what worked and what wasn t working. Adjusted strategies to make sure activities were effective.
As a result of their efforts, 9 cities in Santa Clara County adopted a smoke-free parks ordinance within a two-year timespan.
Questions? Comments? Kim Homer Vagadori kim@cyanonline.org (916) 339-3424 x22 www.cyanonline.org