• Who: Service providers, educators, law enforcement officials (including lawyers and judges), healthcare providers, faith leaders, parents, students majoring in Criminal Justice, Psychology, Social Work, and Public Health who work with, want to work with, or are invested in urban at-risk youth ages 7-22 years old.  Participants will benefit from the unfiltered truths that will be discussed throughout the conference. The symposium targets people who work with, want to work with, or are invested in urban at-risk youth ages 7-22 years old.

 

• What: 2018 Saving Our Youth Symposium-Backstories: Beyond the Data: The Saving Our Youth Symposium is U-Turn Youth Consulting’s Annual Professional Development Conference.  This year’s theme is Backstories: Beyond the Data.  Backstories are important elements for all stakeholders who serve youth to understand if they are to make a lasting impact. However, many professionals who work with urban at-risk youth do not know or understand the extent of the harsh reality these children are living. Service providers rely heavily on data, but numbers do not illustrate the complex multifaceted picture.

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• The symposium will showcase a diverse group of professionals who will share vast knowledge and best practices to circumvent and mitigate urban youth conflict. We will engage the audience, accelerate much needed dialogues, and provide tools and resources that can be utilized to facilitate impactful and lasting change and address the continuous implosion of our youth population.

 

• Stakeholders continue to throw money at the youth violence epidemic to no avail. The youth are finding new ways to commit acts of violence and self-harm, and communities are paying the price. Why:The  2018 Saving Our Youth Symposium: Backstories beyond the Data is part of a critical paradigm shift of how we serve our youth: switching from a sympathetic approach to an empathetic approach.