Evergreen Youth and Family Services Educates Youth Professionals With Conference

Hundreds of youth serving professionals gathered at the Evergreen Youth and Family Services 20th Annual Conference in Bemidji. Those working in areas of mental health, crisis, poverty and homelessness, abuse in many other tough areas for youth.

“We may not ever see the fruit of some of the things that we’re doing, but we know and we believe that the work we’re doing, we believe that the knowledge we’re giving, we believe that the hope that we’re giving to the youth are definitely going to help to yield fruit later on in life, whether we see it or not.” said Evergreen Youth and Family Services Executive Director Ebony Warren, “We’re not asking youth to have it all figured out. We just want to help them take the next step and then the next step.”

And in between each of the main keynote presenters throughout the conference, there were several breakout rooms that focus on local resources that people who work with youth in the community have access to.

“And if we do have a space and we have an opportunity to share it, how much better are we all going to leave feeling?” said Keynote speaker, coach, and author Marie Milagros Vazques, “A little more enlightened, a little more encouraged, a little more educated, and a little more empowered.”

One of the most important aspects of the conference is bringing in speakers who have certain lived experiences of their own. This included a panel of people who were once youth who use evergreen services themselves, who have come back to talk about turning their lives around.

“Because I do this and I live this, I’m teaching you from that place.” said Vazques, “I’m not teaching you from a place that I’m not connected to. I’m teaching you this is how I live my life. So it’s really important for youth workers, especially because when you’re doing work where you’re always giving and you’re in that role of giving to other people, you have to make sure you’re taking care of yourself because you cannot give what you do not have.”

This year’s theme was “Digging Roots. Giving Wings, Holding Light.”

“Hold the light for the youth that you are serving in, that you’re working with so that they can see a path forward no matter what trauma they’ve experienced.” said Warren, “They are not what happened to them. And so holding that light is something that all youth workers are doing for our youth today.”

Between the keynote presenters and breakout rooms, there were more than 30 total sessions between the two days of the conference…and nearly 200 attendees who work with youth in many different ways.