1. Successfully Partnering with Students to Improve School Oral Health
September 27, 2019

2. General Reminders
This webinar will be recorded and archived on the ASTDD website
We would like to hold any questions until the end, so if you have questions, please make a note of them. When we are ready for questions, if you wish to ask one, please click on the Set Status icon which is the little man with his arm raised on either the upper left or the top of your screen. Click on “raise hand.” We will then call on you to ask your question over the phone
Please respond to the polling questions at the conclusion of the webinar

3. This presentation was supported by Cooperative Agreement NU58DP from CDC, Division of Oral Health. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.

4. Presenters
Jessica Daniels, MA, is the Director of Custom Services and Strategic Innovation at Youth Empowered Solutions (YES!) and provides strategic leadership and oversight of impactful custom consulting services to partners including, training, technical assistance, systems development, strategic planning and event consulting services.
Camilo E. Mejía is the Networks Director for Catalyst Miami. Camilo’s has worked as a peace and immigrant rights activist and this led him to his work for Catalyst Miami. He focuses on convening spaces for social justice organizations to build collective power in order to make gains in oral health equity and disability rights. 

5. YES! The Power of Youth Empowerment in
Oral Health

6. Objectives
Participants will understand the YES! Youth Empowerment Model
Participants will understand the benefits for actively engaging youth in school oral health programs
Participants will understand the key strategies for engaging and retaining youth in school oral health programs
#YES4Change

7. MEET YES!
#YES4Change
The Problem
By the end of the decade, the majority of Americans under age 18 will be People of Color.
Young people under the age of 18 make up more than a quarter of the U.S. population, yet their potential as a generation contribute to a better society is systematically ignored. Our nation is suffering economically, socially and civilly as a result.
The Solution: Our Mission
Empowering youth, in partnership with adults, to create equitable community change.

8. Critical Awareness Skill Development Opportunities
YES! Youth Empowerment Model®
#YES4Change
Critical Awareness
Skill Development
Opportunities
To frame our conversation today - I want to introduce folks to the YES! Youth Empowerment Model - a three pronged approach that works to empower youth and their adult allies to create community change.
Not a solid triangle - all sides work in tandem and each component
Skill Development: the how to take action and create change
Critical Awareness: the key component to understanding how we got to where we are with different social and political topics, the collective power of young people and how racial equity binds all of the work together
Opportunities: this component is where the work happens, how do we create space for young people to lead within organizations, communities, schools and more - where are the spaces for them to step in as partners and decision makers to change policies, systems and environments
Over the next 2 days we will apply our model to our training, exploring the critical awareness, skills and opportunities you will need to effectively incorporate youth empowerment and racial equity into your organization.
We will take a deeper dive into this model during part 2 of our training.

9. Critical Awareness Skill Development Opportunities
YES! Youth Empowerment Model®
#YES4Change
Critical Awareness
Skill Development
Opportunities
To frame our conversation today - I want to introduce folks to the YES! Youth Empowerment Model - a three pronged approach that works to empower youth and their adult allies to create community change.
Not a solid triangle - all sides work in tandem and each component
Skill Development: the how to take action and create change
Critical Awareness: the key component to understanding how we got to where we are with different social and political topics, the collective power of young people and how racial equity binds all of the work together
Opportunities: this component is where the work happens, how do we create space for young people to lead within organizations, communities, schools and more - where are the spaces for them to step in as partners and decision makers to change policies, systems and environments
Over the next 2 days we will apply our model to our training, exploring the critical awareness, skills and opportunities you will need to effectively incorporate youth empowerment and racial equity into your organization.
We will take a deeper dive into this model during part 2 of our training.

10. Critical Awareness Skill Development Opportunities
YES! Youth Empowerment Model®
#YES4Change
Critical Awareness
Skill Development
Opportunities
To frame our conversation today - I want to introduce folks to the YES! Youth Empowerment Model - a three pronged approach that works to empower youth and their adult allies to create community change.
Not a solid triangle - all sides work in tandem and each component
Skill Development: the how to take action and create change
Critical Awareness: the key component to understanding how we got to where we are with different social and political topics, the collective power of young people and how racial equity binds all of the work together
Opportunities: this component is where the work happens, how do we create space for young people to lead within organizations, communities, schools and more - where are the spaces for them to step in as partners and decision makers to change policies, systems and environments
Over the next 2 days we will apply our model to our training, exploring the critical awareness, skills and opportunities you will need to effectively incorporate youth empowerment and racial equity into your organization.
We will take a deeper dive into this model during part 2 of our training.

11. Critical Awareness Skill Development Opportunities
YES! Youth Empowerment Model®
#YES4Change
Critical Awareness
Skill Development
Opportunities
To frame our conversation today - I want to introduce folks to the YES! Youth Empowerment Model - a three pronged approach that works to empower youth and their adult allies to create community change.
Not a solid triangle - all sides work in tandem and each component
Skill Development: the how to take action and create change
Critical Awareness: the key component to understanding how we got to where we are with different social and political topics, the collective power of young people and how racial equity binds all of the work together
Opportunities: this component is where the work happens, how do we create space for young people to lead within organizations, communities, schools and more - where are the spaces for them to step in as partners and decision makers to change policies, systems and environments
Over the next 2 days we will apply our model to our training, exploring the critical awareness, skills and opportunities you will need to effectively incorporate youth empowerment and racial equity into your organization.
We will take a deeper dive into this model during part 2 of our training.

12. Policy . System . Environmental Changes
How Can Youth Advocate?
Identifying an issue, organizing and building support, making a case by compiling facts and data, and drawing attention to the issue in order to work towards a solution.
Policy . System . Environmental Changes
Symptoms/ Problem/ Root Causes
#YES4Change

13. Understanding Root Causes
Root Cause Tree
Symptoms
Result or outcome of the problem
What you see as the problem (obvious)
Main Problem
Issue to be addressed
The issues in your community didn’t spring up out of nowhere. One way to start to figure out how things are connected is to ask a simple question, “Why?” For each problem you identify, ask why it exists. Then, take the reason you identified and ask again: “Why?” Do this four or five times until you get to something that seems like a root cause—one of the big things that causes pain in our society, like poverty or discrimination.
This exercise is a way to visualize the causes of the problems you see as you start to figure things out. • Leaves: What are the problems you see in your community? Describe the symptoms. • Trunk: What are the policies or practices that cause those problems? • Roots: What are the underlying causes of those policies and practices you identified in the trunk? Why do the policies exist? Think about context here: historical, racial, and socio-economic.
Root (underlying) Cause
Leads to a policy solution
#YES4Change

14. Here is what research tells us…
#YES4Change
Benefits for centering the voices of youth in your organization.
Organizational culture improves
Youth clarify and focus an organization’s mission
Program initiatives improve and become more authentic and beneficial to the POCI youth and communities who need it the most.
Diverse youth voices positively impact internal decision-making for greater community and policy change.
Funders take organizations seriously
Diversifies community outreach efforts
1. The principles and practices of youth involvement and empowerment become embedded within the organizational culture.
2. Young people help clarify and bring focus to an organization’s mission. 3. Programming improvements occurred as the adults and the organizations, as a whole, became more
connected and responsive to youth in the community.
4. Organizations placed a greater value on inclusivity and representation. They saw the benefit of including multiple and diverse community voices in decision-making processes and the impact it has on programming.
5. Having youth as decision-makers helped convince foundations and other funding agencies that the organization was serious about promoting youth development, as well as, adhering to the principle of
Source: Zeldin, Youth in Decision-Making, 2017.

15. Jessica Daniels, Director of Custom Service and Strategic Innovation

17. Our History
Founded in 1995 as a Miami-based nonprofit 501 (c) 3 organization, the Human Services Coalition (now Catalyst Miami) was formed to monitor changes in health and human service delivery, provide reliable information to the public, and mobilize public planning and response.
Our Operational Values
Leadership ● Collaboration ● Innovation ● Self-empowerment ● Compassion

18. Our Vision
A more just and equitable society in which all residents are meaningfully engaged in community life.
Our Mission
Catalyst Miami’s mission is to support and develop individual leaders and strong organizations that work together to improve health, education and economic opportunity in all our communities.
Our Programs
Prosperity Campaign ● Civic Life Academy ● Strong Organizations ● Oral Health ● CLEAR ● Savings Program and more

19. Racial Equity Correct health disparities
Address the root causes of structural poverty
Ensure equal access to opportunity, and
Advocate for the equitable distribution of community and government resources

20. Working with community members
Correct health disparities
Address the root causes of structural poverty
Ensure equal access to opportunity, and
Advocate for the equitable distribution of community and government resources

21. Oral Health Equity: OH2020/OPEN
Changing the narrative
Oral health and overall health
Oral health as a social justice issue
Increasing Access and Equity
Policy and Advocacy
School based work

22. School-based work Partnership with YES! Student leadership development
Minority-led
Peer-to-peer presentations
Photo-voice
Voxpop
Tabling
Morning announcement
Community outreach/presentations

23. Water Filling Station Pilot Project

25. Wellness Policy Dental clubs Leveling the playing field
Changing the culture
Positive oral/overall health outcomes
Policy change
Institutional change