Youth Advisory Board

Mission Statement: Our mission is to educate the public on what a child with mental health issues goes through in the school and in the community.

Click on picture to read board members' bios

We hope to make a difference by:

• Reducing the stigma associated with mental health diagnoses
• Educating the public on the issues youth face
• Influencing children's mental health policy changes
• Advocating for better services
• Providing peer support
• Being better self advocates
• Creating a youth presence in an adult-dominated world
• Developing our own leadership skills

Current Activities:

1. Maintaining web page for youth advisory board
2. Presenting at conferences and staff in-services
3. Providing input for publications, articles, and service provision related to children's mental health

Advisory Board Positions

We are not currently accepting applications as all board positions are filled at this time. Please check back later.

If you would like to be considered for a position on the Minnesota Statewide Family Network Youth Advisory Board please fill out and submit the following application. Criteria for consideration of membership include:

• Being between the ages of 14-19
• Being on an IEP for EBD (Emotional and Behavioral Disorders) or having a diagnosed mental health disability (Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar, Asperger’s Disorder, Tourette’s, etc.)
• Having the ability to get to and from monthly meetings

Youth Board Presentation

Check out our powerpoint presentation! We present at national and statewide conferences and for staff trainings. Our powerpoint gives you an idea of some of the things we talk about. We tailor our presentations to the audience and usually include time for participant question and answer time with youth board members. For more information on having us speak at your conference, or for your school or agency, contact Debbie Rocco, Youth Advisory Board Facilitator at 952-838-9000.

Website links for MSFN Youth Advisory Board web page

Family

• ADHD: A Guide for Families
• The Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families
• Kids Health
• NYU Child Study Center
• Quality Mall

Friends

• Straight Talk for Teenage Girls
• teenwire

Community

• ADHD Information and Support to Help Your Child
• Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America
• MENTOR: Expanding the world of quality mentoring
• NAMI: Child & Adolescent Action Center
• National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• The U.S. Jaycees
• Voices for America's Children
• Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities
• YouthRules!

Self Advocacy and Leadership

• Do Something: Young People Changing Their World
• Global Youth Action Network
• Kids As Self Advocates
• KidsCounsel: Center for Children's Advocacy
• Listen Up! Youth Media Network
• National Youth Leadership Council: Service-Learning's Homepage
• ScenariosUSA - Kids Creating Social Change
  A little bit of info from their website... Scenarios USA aims to inspire youth to make healthier and safer decisions by offering them a creative approach to thinking through and discussing their choices, their dreams, and their future.
  Scenarios asks youth to write scripts and stories about issues which shape their lives, including HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, relationships, sexual orientation, peer pressure, and communication as part of the Scenarios 'What's the Real Deal?' writing contest. The winning writers, partnered with Hollywood filmakers, produce their stories into high-quality, short films in their home towns... (More on the website.)
  To go directly to a list of their films: http://www.scenariosusa.com/movies/
  From their website: "...without a doubt the hippest, best-edited, most entertaining sex ed videos ever made. The movies are relevant because the scripts are written by teens for teens."

School / Bullying and Harassment

• Bullies 2 Buddies
• Bullying at School
• Computers for Youth
• Learning Disabilities OnLine: KidZone
• schwablearning.org

Links for Specific Mental Health Conditions

• The purpose of Organized Chaos is to provide you with a "teens/young adults-only" Web Site for learning about OCD from each other, and from treatment providers. You'll be given the tools needed to overcome the isolation OCD often fosters, and a forum for creatively expressing your personal trials, tribulations and triumphs.

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