2017 CIIP Program Book 2017 CIIP Program Book | Page 53

Community Partner: Youth Empowered Society
Intern: Taliah West
Site Supervisor: Nick Brooks
What is Youth Empowered Society?
YES is an organization that prevents and eliminates youth homelessness through the synergy of youth/peer and
ally partnerships. YES provides urgently needed direct services to youth experiencing homelessness through
trauma-informed peer and ally support; develops the leadership and employment readiness of youth who have
experienced homelessness; and partners with youth to advocate for systems change.
"I came into this program with a pretty vague idea of how my summer would go. I knew
that I wanted to become more familiar and involved in the community that I have been
living in for the past three years, but I was unsure what type of experience that might
involve.
YES seemed daunti ng at first. I had no experience with a drop-in center, had never visited
the space, and had never worked at an organization that didn’t have me sitting in front of a
computer for the majority of the time. My goal for the summer was to build relationships in
whichever community I would be serving, in this case, youth experiencing homelessness.
As someone who has had the same group of friends since my first week in college, I was a
little worried about my ability to make those connections. I thought I would have trouble
talking to people, but I quickly learned that I didn’t have to talk so much as listen. Youth
would talk to me about everything from their favorite shows on Cartoon Network to their
thoughts on racism in sports, and relating to the youth at YES was no more difficult than
relating to anyone on campus or anywhere else. I had been using my assumption of being
unable to fully relate as a barrier to building meaningful connections, and it wasn’t until I
was in that space that I realized how that bred disconnection in other areas as well.
Before this summer, I would usually walk around quickly, head straight forward, earphones
in, and tuned out to what was going on around me. I didn’t feel as present in the
communities I would walk through. I feel like YES has genuinely made me a more open
person who is both willing and excited to reach out to people. I greet almost everyone I see
on my way to work in the mornings, and have had some very interesting conversations with
people I pass by on my way home. Getting into the habit of building connections has
definitely continued outside of work, and I am grateful for the sense of awareness and
presence that it has given me in this community." -Taliah
• Supported drop-in by managing an area of the
space and distributing food, clothing, and
tokens
• Provided assistance to youth as needed (filling
out job applications, building resumes,
searching for housing, etc.)
• Performed administrative tasks such as editing
and creating logs and sign-in sheets, taking
notes during staff meetings, and updating
online data in Baltimore City's Homeless
Management Information System (HMIS).
53