Youth Power – Get Involved!
Hampshire County
SPIFFY Youth Leadership Work
- Leaders of Today Council: SPIFFY has been supporting a group of youth in Hampshire County to create a Hampshire County youth leadership website, and the website is now launched! The purpose of the this website is for youth across the county to learn about and get involved in opportunities of youth activism, leadership, and engagement. We also send out a monthly e-newsletter with new and ongoing youth leadership and activism opportunities in Hampshire County!
- Check out the Leaders of Today Website!
- To sign up for the monthly LTC Newsletter, click HERE.
- Contact to learn more: apolokoff@collaborative.org; tsogoba@collaborative.org
- SPIFFY Youth Steering Committee: The SPIFFY Coalition created its first ever Youth Steering Committee in 2023. This group of 8-10 Hampshire County teens meets monthly to connect, help SPIFFY make decisions about our work, and build leadership skills.
- Interested in joining the Youth Steering Committee? Reach out to Lexi: apolokoff@collaborative.org
- Make A Change Team: Since 2022, SPIFFY has been supporting this group of 8-10 Easthampton High School students to gather data and implement strategies that improve school climate using a Youth Participatory Action Research model.
- Learn more about this program in our shared public folder.
- Contact to learn more: apolokoff@collaborative.org
- Past SPIFFY Youth Leadership Work
Community Action Youth Programs
- About: Youth Programs provides free youth development programs for individuals ages 14-24 in Hampshire County, Franklin County, and the North Quabbin region.
- Programs: Youth Council, Shout Out, Gen X, Say Something
- Contact for involvement: ldavis@communityaction.us
Northampton Youth Commission
- About: The Northampton Youth Commission serves to create a means of communication between city leaders and young people in Northampton. The Northampton Youth Commission is a group of young people between the ages of 13 – 18 who are interested in working to improve the lives of young people in the community by discussing issues of concern and working to provide solutions.
- Apply to the commission here
- Contact for involvement: elijahgbacal@gmail.com
South Hadley Peer Leaders
- About: The Peer Leaders are a group of students who support social action and good decisions and want to prevent teen substance use.
- Contact for involvement: amazzulli@shschools.com
Statewide Youth Advocacy
The 84
- About: The 84 is a statewide movement of youth fighting tobacco in Massachusetts. The 84 represents the 84% of Massachusetts youth who did NOT smoke when the movement began. Now, 93.4% of youth do NOT smoke. Youth groups in a high school or community organization who want to fight against the tobacco and vaping industries sign up to become an 84 Chapter and be a part of the movement.
- Contact for involvement: ccaminiti@hria.org
Youth WOS (Wipe Out Stigma)
- About: Youth Wipe Out Stigma (WOS) is a new statewide group of youth working to raise awareness about issues relating to mental health impacting young people as well as advocating for policies that promote positive mental health in Massachusetts. WOS hopes to actualize the passion and ideas of young people to make meaningful changes for youth struggling with mental health. If you are a young person ages 14-18 living in Massachusetts and interested in advocating for young people’s mental health, please fill out this application form to join Youth WOS! WOS is looking for young people who can attend at least one monthly virtual meeting and will support the projects and campaigns to collectively decide to take on.
- Contact for involvement: WipeOutStigma@gmail.com
Youth Move
- About: Youth MOVE National is a youth-driven, chapter-based organization dedicated to uniting the voices of youth nationwide. Youth M.O.V.E. National members work as a diverse collective to unite the voices and causes of youth while raising awareness around youth issues.
- Contact for involvement: dkaplan@ppal.net
Do Something
- About: As the largest not-for-profit exclusively for young people and social change, DoSomething’s millions of members represent every US area code and 131 countries. Using our digital platform, DoSomething members join our volunteer, social change, and civic action campaigns to make real-world impact on causes they care about.
- Register as a member here
SADD
- About: SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) empowers and mobilizes students and adult allies to engage in positive change through leadership and smart decision-making.
- Contact for involvement: Ask your school principal if your school has a SADD chapter.
Resources for Youth
Youth Leadership
- Instagram for Advocacy and Communications toolkit (Resource link)
- 73 Community Service Project Ideas (Resource Link)
- MediaWise
- About: MediaWise empowers people of all ages to become more critical consumers of content online. We teach people digital media literacy and fact-checking skills to spot misinformation and disinformation, with initiatives specifically designed to engage Gen Z, college students and older Americans. Our innovative, digital-first program works constantly to address the ever-changing landscape of misinformation across the internet. (Resource link)
- How-To Guides: How students can confront systemic concerns and create lasting change in their school and community (Resource link)
- How to Put Youth in Power: A Hill Office’s Guide to Youth-Led Legislation (Resource link)
- Tips for Speaking to the Media Toolkit (Resource link)
- MA Youth Leadership Camps (Resource link)
- Youth Participatory Action Resource Guide (Resource link)
- Youth Mapping (Resource link)
- Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate Incident Guide (Resource link)
- Protesting 101: How to Stay Safe on the Streets (Resource link)
- Evokate
- About: A tool for young adults who are passionate about intersectional issues related to mental health and want to advocate for change. (Website)
- Redefy
- About: We are an organization by teenagers, for teenagers seeking to empower schools and communities with resources and information to be more inclusive. (Website)
- Youth Time Magazine
- Youth Time Magazine is a platform run by young people and for young people around the globe. The main purpose of the magazine is to develop relevant content to help youth around the globe to direct their youth time towards social responsibility and service to the world. The Magazine covers the stories of young successful entrepreneurs, useful skillsets for the career landscape of the 21st century, top universities, open calls for grants and competitions, volunteering opportunities as well as alternative perspectives on various topics. They want to raise awareness of global issues and provide relevant information on where to find the answers for their solutions. (Website)
- Student Voice The by-students, for-students nonprofit (Resource link)
LGBTQ+ and Mental Health
- Diverse Mental Health Resources Hub (Resource link)
- Vibe Check: A DoSomething Guide (Resource link)
- What Helps & What Harms BIPOC & LGBTQIA2S+ Youth Navigating Mental Health (Resource link)
- Gender Identity toolkits (Resource link)
- What is Complex Trauma? A Resource Guide for Youth (Resource link)
- Mental Health Facts and Information (Resource link)
- Caring for Your Mental Health (Resource link)
- Go Ask Alice! Emotional Health Q&A (Resource link)
- Focus on What Matters (Resource link)
- Mental Health Resource Center (Resource link)
- Your Voice is Your Power Resource Hub (Resource link)
- Youth Wellness Quest (Resource link)
- Bending the Mold: An Action Kit for Transgender Students
- This toolkit is designed to assist transgender, gender non-conforming, questioning, and ally students to make school a safer place. Resources include how to advocate for change as well as an extensive list of resources to help you connect with the transgender community and find support. (Resource link)
- The Trevor Project seeks to end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young people. Here are some of the resources they offer:
- TrevorLifeline – TrevorLifeline is at the center of our crisis intervention and suicide prevention services, with volunteers at our call centers reaching young people in crisis 24/7, 365 days a year all across the country. (Resource link)
- TrevorText – TrevorText is a channel where LGBTQ young people can text a trained Trevor counselor for support and crisis intervention at any time of day from their mobile device. We expanded TrevorText and TrevorChat to 24/7 operation this year to reach more youth than ever before. (Resource link)
- TrevorChat – TrevorChat is our instant messaging service for LGBTQ youth. This 24/7 platform is also led by our trained Trevor counselors. TrevorChat and TrevorText are our fastest-growing crisis service departments. (Resource link)
- Protect Your Space and Well-Being on Instagram Guide (Resource link)
- The Coming Out Handbook (Resource link)
- Give Us The Floor
- About: We provide LGBTQ+ teens in distress with the peer-positive human connection that they are too often missing. We help LGBTQ+ teens deal with distress through inclusive, innovative and unique online peer Supportive Group Chats that provide constant contact and anonymity in a safe teen-only community, breaking the isolation and shame cycles they are experiencing. Trained teens facilitate the confidential groups and participants help each other with prevalent mental health and social issues such as depression, isolation, anxiety, identity, discrimination, bullying, relationships, domestic violence, and body image. (Resource link)
- LGBTQ+ Teen Discord Servers
- Their servers are for LGBTQ+ middle schoolers, high schoolers, and young adults (18-30). Each of the servers is a space to support LGBTQ+ youth in making friends with LGBTQ+ people their age across the country. They have recurring events nights where they get together to watch movies, play games, make fidgets, and more! All the servers are vetted and monitored for the safety of all. (Resource link)
- Translate Gender’s Youth Programs (Resource link)
Facts on Substances
- Truth Initiative: A nonprofit public health organization committed to making tobacco use and nicotine addiction a thing of the past. (Resource link)
- Paid opportunity: Truth Initiative’s “Teen Quitting Vaping Study.” (Resource link)
- Learn how to make up to $95 with surveys here (Resource link)
- “The Great Manipulator” 30 sec vaping ad (Video link)
- Facts. No Filters PSAs (Resource link)
- NIDA for Teens National Institute on Drug Abuse for teens. Latest facts on drugs, teen use and its effects (Resource link)
- Mouse Party Game (Resource link)
- Social Environment Impacts the Reward Pathway video (Video link)
- Short substance videos (1 min. animated, how a drug impacts the brain) (Video link)
- 5 min TedEd animation: The dangers of mixing drugs (Video link)
- 10 min TedEd animation: How do cigarettes affect the body? (Video link)
- TedTalk: Why it’s so hard to make healthy decisions (Video link)
- Facts about Teen Drinking (Resource link)
Other Resources for Youth
- For help quitting vaping/tobacco:
- My Life My Quit (Resource link)
- Quit for Hit: A Ready-Made, Instagram-Based Cessation Program to Help Young People Quit Vaping (Resource link)
- This is Quitting (Resource link)
- Become an Ed (Resource link)
- Alcohol-related:
- For evaluating your own alcohol use and other resources about alcohol (Resource link)
- For information on dealing with a parent who is using drugs or alcohol: One-pager (Resource link)
- Alateen: A place just for teens affected by someone else’s alcoholism. (Resource link)
- Other websites, local supports, and resources:
- “That’s Not Cool” Teen Ambassador Violence Prevention Program (Resource link)
- Your Healthiest Self: Wellness toolkits (Resource link)
- Homeless Youth Handbook (Resource link)
- Youth Pages of Franklin Co (AmeriCorps TSP creation) Website
- Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Addiction Resource Guide for Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin Counties (Resource link)
- Where to dispose of unwanted/out-of-date drugs (Resource link)
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Resource link)
- The Herren Project:
- About: Herren Project is a national nonprofit organization providing free resources and support for the treatment, recovery and prevention of substance use disorder. (Resource link)
- Student Resources (Resource link)
- DIAL/SELF helps young people become independent by connecting them with housing, employment, education and civic opportunities in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties and the North Quabbin region. (Resource link)
- Community Action Pioneer Valley offers a range of services for Franklin and Hampshire Counties, including Youth and Workforce Development. (Resource link)
- Teen Line provides support, resources, and hope to young people through a hotline of professionally trained teen counselors, and outreach programs that de-stigmatize and normalize mental health. (Resource link)
- “Is this Health Info Legit?” One-pager (Resource link)
- What’s OK Helpline
- For teens who have questions about sexual thoughts, behaviors and interests. (Resource link)
- Winter Break Survival Guide (Resource link)
- Online Safety for LGBTQ+ Young People (Resource link)