Are you a youth who feels like life is happening around them? Calling All Youth (CAY) is your chance to speak up and be heard by adults like court officials, teachers, therapists, parents and other authority figures in your life! IT’S TIME YOU HAD A VOICE!
Calling All Youth (CAY) is the youth advisory board for Kalamazoo Wraps; a community collaboration effort that seeks to improve mental health services for youth and their families. Young people involved in CAY are between the ages of 11 – 17 and are dealing with the day to day stress of having a mood, emotional or behavior challenge. These challenges often lead them to become involved with multiple systems of care including the mental health system, the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system (child protective services, foster care) and/or non-traditional education systems and supports (special education, individualized education plans, 504 behavior plans, alternative schools, etc.). Living with these challenges and trying to navigate through these services can be extremely stressful for young people and their families.
CAY was designed to help youth cope with these stresses by empowering them to use their voices to advocate for things they need to experience success in their lives. CAY members believe that:
· Power should be given back to the young people who are receiving services
· Young people should be included in any decision making that affects their lives (nothing about us without us)
· Young people should fight to be seen, heard, and valued by their community.
CAY members fight to be seen by their community by attempting to break the stigma associated with the term “troubled youth”, fight to be heard by their community by learning to advocate for themselves and the accommodations they need, and fight to be valued by their community by helping adults and authority figures to view young people as valuable partners and resources.
If you, or a young person you know, would like to have power and a voice in the System of Care please fill out the application below and send it to Mackenzie Hunter at Advocacy Services for Kids (ASK) 414 E. Michigan Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49007. You may also email it to mackenzieh@askforkids.org or fax it to (269) 978-0287.
CAY Application
Strategic Plan
Hear what youth have to say:
Interview with Justin H.
Does Age Define Intelligence?
