Healthy Maine Partnership's Youth Advocacy Programs
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If you are involved engaging youth in Healthy Maine Partnership work (as a group leader, YAP Coordinator, community partnership specialist, etc), make sure you are on MYAN's email and contact lists! If you're not sure if you are, contact Molly at MYAN at moconnell@propeople.org or 553-5920.
How Do HMP YAPs Work?
Healthy Maine Partnerships (HMP) was originally developed in response to the Fund for Healthy Maine legislation and tobacco settlement funding. HMP is an initiative that links and coordinates Maine CDC efforts with the related health promotion efforts of the Department of Education and with the Maine Office of Substance Abuse.
The intention is for each HMP to have a program that actively involves youth in making positive changes in their communities around physical activity, healthy eating, substance abuse prevention, and tobacco prevention and control. The purpose of involving youth is primarily to engage youth as effective agents for change by contributing their unique perspectives, fresh energy and desire to take action. Secondarily, active involvement of youth gives them an opportunity to be integrally involved in community life across multiple sectors and promotes the development of new leaders and concerned citizens. With an emphasis on looking at health disparities through the lens of social justice, youth develop skills that inspire them to advocate for changes that promote health in their communities.
Each HMP engages youth in different ways. Some HMPs have paid staff whose role includes overseeing youth involvement efforts. Other HMPs give stipends to teachers in schools to create groups, or to add HMP-related projects to the work of existing groups. Other HMPs do a combination of these, or use another format entirely. The important thing is that each HMP is actively thinking about ways to engage youth in the process of community change and health promotion! At MYAN, we think of HMPs' "Youth Advocacy Programs or YAPs" as encompassing all the ways that they involve youth.
Want to learn more details about HMPs & YAPs? Check out the "Need to Know" guide, listed below.
How Can MYAN Help You?
MYAN is available as a resource for Healthy Maine Partnerships (HMP) as they engage youth as partners in achieving HMP objectives for creating environmental and policy change around tobacco, physical activity, nutrition and substance abuse.
Following are some of the ways that MYAN can support HMPs in the work you are doing. We look forward to working with you! Please don’t hesitate to contact us for support.
We offer technical support by phone or email. MYAN staff are available to talk through challenges, offer suggestions, and connect you to handouts, articles, events and other groups. MYAN also does targeted outreach to our HMP contacts to connect you to relevant events, trainings & resources.
MYAN’s News to Use e-newsletter highlights inspiring examples of youth involvement and leadership and connects you to groups, tools and events. You can find archives on our website in the publications section.
Our Annual Peer Leadership Conference brings together over 400 youth & adults from across the state to learn new skills, network with other groups, and find out about local and statewide initiatives and resources that can support their groups’ efforts through the year.
The Annual Stop. Quit. RESIST! Anti-Tobacco Youth Summit mobilizes youth from across Maine to come together with adult activists to fight the battle against tobacco. Attendees take part in workshops and activities to help them gain information, resources, skills and connections to take the fight back home.
Centralized HMP Youth Coordinator Meetings will be happening in a new format soon. Please stay tuned to find out more information about the 2009-10 season!
MYAN creates & compiles resources on building & supporting groups, youth empowerment, program sustainability, health promotion & much more. We also recommend that HMP staff regularly check out the MYAN resource pages which are continually updated with contacts, downloadable handouts, & web links.
- MYAN worked with state level HMP staff to develop a guide for suggested youth activities to fit with HMP strategies and outcomes. Download the HMP Youth Activity Resource Guide!
- In partnership with state HMP leadership, MYAN also developed the "Need to Know Guide: An Introduction for New Staff to the World of Healthy Maine Partnership Youth Advocacy Programs." We suggest that all existing and new coordinators, as well as HMP directors, become familiar with this document.
Where Else Can You Find Help?
- Use your Healthy Maine Partnership director and your Project Officers for support! Not sure who your project officers are? Talk to your HMP director, or contact MYAN.
- Check out resources & announcements at www.healthymainepartnerships.org.
- The Maine Prevention Calendar lists events & trainings related to health promotion, disease prevention and professional skillbuilding.
- Questions about Evaluation? Contact Marco Andrade of the Maine Centers for Public Health which help to evaluate the work of Healthy Maine Partnerships. You can reach Marco at mandrade@mcph.org or (207) 629-9272. Also, check out this YAP Activity Tracking tool developed with YAP coordinators to help you gather the information your HMP needs to report back to the state (through KIT) and also helps you track your projects/events.
