Hello from Treehouse Foundation's HEROES Youth Leadership Program, for youth and young adults who have experience with foster care, kinship care, adoption, and more! Please read on for the following program updates and resources.
- Truth Tellers Theater Ensemble: Wrap Up & Thank You!
- HEROES Annual Camping Trip: June 25-27
- Summer Activities Poll
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Training Opportunity: Connection Drives Healing - Protective Factors of Adult Support, Compassion, and Allyship for LGBTQ + Youth- June 18th, 2024
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Truth Tellers Theater Ensemble
Wrap Up and Thank You!
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Truth Tellers Theater Ensemble with Charles Lerner, State Director of CASA, Isaac Pugh, DCF Director of Foster Care, and Judy Cockerton, Founder and CEO of Treehouse Foundation at the Massachusetts State House. | |
I Was... and I am: Still Here
Stories of Lived Experience with Foster Care and Adoption
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What an amazing journey it has been! After seven months of bonding, growing, learning, creating, and honing an array of skills, Truth Tellers Theater Ensemble debuted their original production on May 7th. "I was... and I am: Still here" contains ensemble members' lived experience stories of Foster Care, kinship care, adoption and DCF involvement.
This month, the ensemble performed for students and faculty at Holyoke High School, for case workers at DCF, for legislators at the Massachusetts State House, and for our local community at Easthampton Media. The performances were so moving, empowering, joyful, and cathartic.
HEROES, Treehouse Foundation, and the Arts Integration Studio, along with the ensemble, would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone who attended a performance, all who hosted us, and our wonderful sponsors.
While Truth Tellers will be taking a break over the summer, we will be up and running again in the fall AND we are actively recruiting new members. If you, or a young person you know might be interested, please fill out our interest form HERE and we will reach out to you in the coming weeks!
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What is TTT, you ask?
Truth Tellers Theater Ensemble (TTT) is a free, in person, after school program created by HEROES Youth Leadership Program and the Arts Integration Studio. Together, the ensemble builds a performance designed to tell their own stories in a way that feels healing, empowering, and above all, safe.
The goal of Truth Tellers is to inform, educate, and change the child welfare system for the better by performing locally, for DCF, and at the State House. The group is made up of teens, young adult leaders, adult staff/teaching artists, and older volunteers (all HEROES staff and volunteers are CORI and SORI checked.)
Whatever someone is interested in can be incorporated- from visual art to spoken word, to dance, set design, costume making, cosmetology and more! Nobody has to perform if they don't want to. They can participate in other ways! We play hilarious theater games, do writing exercises, and bond as a group. It's really fun!
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Our most popular program of the year is coming up in June! Join HEROES for two nights of glamping in Russell, MA at the beautiful Noble View Outdoor Center! We will be sleeping in a comfortable yet rustic cabin, and spending our days and evenings outdoors on the trails, by the campfire, and near the water. Participants can expect to learn basic outdoor skills, enjoy low pressure team building activities, and connect with others who can relate to your life experiences.
DETAILS
WHEN: June 25th-June 27th, 2024
WHERE: Noble View Outdoor Center, Russell, MA
FOR WHO?: Teens ages 12+. Some spots are available for young adult leaders ages 20+. Participants should have experience in foster care, kinship care, or adoption.
*Siblings in foster/adoptive families will also be considered.
WHAT IS THE COST?: Camping, transportation, meals/snacks, and all activity costs are free of charge for HEROES participants.
QUESTIONS?: Email us at heroes@treehousefoundation.net
HOW DO I SIGN UP?: Click the button below to register!
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Summer is right around the corner and we are planning activities for HEROES youth and young adults. We want to know what you think. Please select the activity you would most like to do! | |
Which activity are you interested in participating in this summer? | | | |
Training Opportunity:
Connection Drives Healing - Protective Factors of Adult Support, Compassion, and Allyship for LGBTQ + Youth
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June 18th 2024, 12:00-1:00 Online
Lunch & Learn – Connection Drives Healing – Protective Factors of Adult Support, Compassion, and Allyship for LGBTQ + Youth
Linked Mentoring, Inc. presents Connection Drives Healing: Protective Factors of Adult Support, Compassion, and Allyship for LGBTQ+ Youth. Join us for PRIDE month’s Lunch & Learn where we will have guest presenters from Linked Mentoring, Inc. Linked Mentoring, Inc. is a youth mentoring organization which seeks to connect, empower, and inspire LGBTQ+ youth; connecting youth with an LGBTQ+ adult mentor so that the two can develop a trusting, supportive, mutually positive connection.
In this training, we aim to provide a foundational understanding of LGBTQ+ youth’s unique experiences and needs including identity development, representation, and intergenerational mentoring relationships. As we explore both the contemporary and historical disenfranchisement of LGBTQ+ youth, participants will learn key resilience-building practices they can implement in their own work to be affirming and inclusive service providers.
Learn More
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