Stories of Seeking System Reform: The Humboldt County Transition Age Youth Collaboration

Young people in foster care and/or involved in mental health and juvenile justice systems are at disproportionate risk of poverty, suicidal ideation, and, upon exiting these systems, homelessness. As they age out of or are released from government service programs, these youth face challenges in accessing appropriate health and mental health support. Fortunately, those residing in Humboldt County, California, can become part of the Humboldt County Transition Age Youth Collaboration (HCTAYC), which aims to empower young people with lived experience to transform the foster care, juvenile justice, mental health, and homelessness service systems in Humboldt County, and in greater Northern California. 

For the past ten years, StoryCenter has had the privilege of partnering with HCTAYC to offer annual digital storytelling workshops. The sessions have supported more than 70 young people in sharing stories of their challenges, resilience, and involvement in advocacy efforts to create change. Since the advent of COVID-19, we have shifted these efforts online, offering a unique, retreat-like experience to participating young people. In 2020 and ‘22, HCTAYC staff hosted small groups of storytellers at a Humboldt County hotel, as part of their yearly youth leadership retreat. Over several days, staff guided them through relationship-building, healing, and playful activities to create a safe, online space, in which we supported the youth in sharing and crafting digital stories. From their individual hotel rooms, the youth joined us on Zoom for two hours each morning and each afternoon, to learn skills for storytelling and video editing. As with all of our digital storytelling workshops, they wrote and audio recorded deeply personal stories, found images to represent them, and assembled short videos.

Nearly half of the participants discussed being institutionalized for their mental illnesses, and for suicidal ideation. These experiences left the youth, who described their experiences as hurting more than helping, unable to trust law enforcement, school administrators, psychiatrists, social workers, therapists, and others in the child welfare and mental health care fields, and therefore without the support they needed. Some participants shared their experiences with homelessness; and many told stories about bullying, neglect, and abuse they’ve faced, in their homes or in public. Others spoke about experiencing body dysmorphia, racism, homophobia, and transphobia growing up, and the anxiety this caused in their young lives. Almost all participants talked about how they felt health care and foster care systems had abandoned them. A common theme across the stories has been these young people’s current advocacy efforts and their drive to transform the lives of youth who have been through similar experiences. 

During our final workshop screenings at both of the online workshops, several participants mentioned that sharing their stories in a safe space has been significant to their process of beginning to move forward and find healing. HCTAYC has integrated the stories into their growing collection, to use as teaching tools in the organization’s ongoing efforts to train Humboldt’s social workers, juvenile justice, mental health, and homeless services staff on best practices for supporting the young people they serve.

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