Seattle MYN Chapter Thanks Legislative Supporters

Seattle Chapter Thanks Legislative and Community Partners

This week The Mockingbird Society's Seattle Chapter of the Mockingbird Youth Network hosted its first Legislative Celebration and Chapter Open House to thank the elected leaders who have worked tirelessly to fulfill our collective responsibility for children and youth impacted by foster care.

In addition to celebrating our champions and achievements, this event also allowed our youth to provide a recap of the Foster Youth & Alumni Leadership Summit. At the Summit, approximately 60 youth from across the state came together to introduce the next generation of child welfare reforms based on their experiences in the system. Their proposals marked the beginning of a year-round effort to ensure that youth voice drives positive change in Washington state. The Seattle Chapter's Legislative Celebration brought together community members, service providers, and elected officials to celebrate how far we have come, as well as discussing where we must go to ensure children and youth in care have the opportunity to thrive.

Youth from Mockingbird's Homeless Youth Initiative also had the opportunity to share their stories with elected officials and community members. Mockingbird's Homeless Youth Initiative is a pilot program that was started in May of this year and was created to elevate youth voice. HYI engages young people ages 13 – 24 who have experienced homelessness in King County and supports them to provide their input when addressing problems and solutions within the homeless youth system. We are so excited that these youth shared their powerful stories and dedicated advocacy work with event attendees.

We here at The Mockingbird Society would like to offer a big thank you to the elected officials who celebrated with us. Special thanks to Senator Joe Fain, Representative Reuven Carlyle, Representative Mary Helen Roberts, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, staff from Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles' office, and staff from King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert's office. We are honored to have such strong champions at the state level, leading the way for effective and innovative policies. We are also honored to have county and local government leaders join us and we look forward to building upon these strong relationships at every level of government.

The remaining Mockingbird Youth Network Chapters will be hosting Legislative Celebrations in their regions throughout the summer. This is a time for elected officials in each region to connect with youth constituents and to celebrate everyone's hard work. Check back in with the Mockingbird Blog throughout the summer to see how these events went!