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Staff Trained in Advanced Youth Development Training

27-07-2017

CBM National Staff participated in a transformational Advanced Youth Development training with Thandor Miller and Syreeta Evans of the DC Children & Youth Investment Trust Corporation January 29.

The session changed the thinking of many of the CBM program managers and other staff.

“Youth development, by definition, belongs to young people,” Evans said. “We can’t ‘DO’ youth development. It is there process, they own it.”

The staff learned the basic needs of youth include safety and structure, belonging and membership, self-worth and ability to contribute, self-awareness and ability to reflect and assess, independence and control over one’s life, closeness with at least one lasting relationship with an adult, and competence and mastery.

Give young people journals, Miller said. Journaling not only provides an outlet, but helps adults identify problems and then work towards real solutions that will benefit the children.

“It was amazing. It was a good opportunity to get answers to questions that I had about how to engage the boys in ways that I wouldn’t have thought. For example, one of the things that they said was that looking at these situations through different lenses, having different points of view gives you a broader view of how to solve an issue. If one of your boys has an issue with self-esteem, there are different ways that you can go about helping him, instead of saying ‘let me give you a speech and motivate you.’ There are other avenues you can take to get him lifted up, instead of just giving a lecture,” said Mark Hernandez.

Jeannette Simon, director of volunteer & mentor services, said “It’s a very powerful training. It’s not only a professional development, but it makes them go back and look at themselves and what they’re bringing to the table. … I can give them the structure of mentoring, but I can’t give them this youth development. I can create a program, but I can’t give them this.

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