We visited elementary and middle school students at the Northern California Indian Development Council’s after-school program to learn how inclusive Del Norte County Schools are for our Native American students as well as how our schools might be hurting them and what they would like to see changed. Students shared stories of personal experiences they have had with classmates and teachers as well as offered solutions to how we can help build a better learning environment.
On Thursday, October 20th, candidates for the District 1 Del Norte County Board of Supervisor’s seat and the District 4 Del Norte County School Board seat will come together at Mary Peacock to answer questions on topics ranging from youth homelessness to bullying. One might be surprised to find that many of the passionate hosts of the forum are not yet of voting age.
The nonpartisan candidate’s forum was designed by youth, organized by youth, and will be run by youth with guidance from True North Organizing and partners with Building Healthy Communities, Redwood Voice, the Opportunity Youth Initiative, and College of the Redwoods.
“We as youth have a responsibility to not only represent the issues we care about, but also have the responsibility to represent ourselves in this new age,” says organizer Kevin Vue, age 18, “youth have problems too, we suffer and our peers suffer, we would like to see how [the candidates] are going to address our problems.” Organizer Alexxa Herrera, age 16, adds, “This forum also tells people that youth do care about what goes on in our community. Because we care enough to put this on, [the community] should care enough to listen and vote.”
The youth organizers selected the Del Norte County School Board and Del Norte County Board of Supervisors to create the opportunity to ask the candidates questions around decisions they will make that directly impact youth.
College of the Redwoods professor, Will Meriweather, will also be providing brief information on the many propositions that local voters will have on their ballots this year.
For the Del Norte County School Board candidates, Judie Cordts, Charlaine Mazzei, and Roger Daley, the youth selected questions regarding LGBTQ+ issues, bullying, supporting minority students transitioning to higher education, and updates to Del Norte County Schools. For the Board of Supervisors, Roger Gitlin and Kathryn Murray, the youth have selected questions around youth homelessness and shelters, mental health resources, businesses, and other major challenges for youth living in Del Norte County.
The entire community is encouraged to attend to learn more about their candidates and how they are responding to the issues important to our youth. The forum will be held Thursday, October 20th from 6:00pm-8:00pm at the Mary Peacock Gym. Voter registration, childcare, and translation will be available.
Sixteen-year-old Jed Hawkins is your average junior at Del Norte High School. He plays tennis, enjoys being with friends, loves music, and is a creative storyteller. Jed has dreams of becoming a famous actor, helping people struggling with mental disorders, and changing the world. However, Jed’s daily life is also made more complicated by Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger’s is a developmental disorder that makes socializing and focusing in school difficult for him. He often finds himself feeling depressed, isolated, and misunderstood. Despite these challenges, Jed continues to reach out, trying to make a difference in the lives of others. So, when he heard about the Directing Change Statewide Film Contest, he was immediately up for the challenge.
The Directing Change Program and Film Contest is part of Each Mind Matters: California’s Mental Health Movement. The program offers youth opportunity to participate in the movement by creating 60-second films about suicide prevention and mental health that are used to support awareness, education and advocacy efforts on these topics. Program participants – whether they are making a film, acting as an adult adviser, or judging the films – are exposed to appropriate messaging about these topics, warning signs, how to appropriately respond to someone in distress, where to seek help, as well as how to stand up for others who are experiencing a mental health challenge.
Redwood Voice, a local youth media program funded through the Building Healthy Communities Initiative, provided equipment, training, and support for youth interested in submitting to the contest. Jed worked with Makenzy Williams and Jacob Patterson, leaders of Redwood Voice, as well as community partners including Meng Lo with Harrington House and Michelle Carrillo with Building Healthy Communities. The message Jed wants to share was clear: he doesn’t want anyone to feel alone, and wants the world to know that we need to support, love, and care for each other regardless of any mental health challenge that may be complicating our lives. Fifty percent of us will experience a mental health challenge in our lifetime, according to CDC: U.S. Adult Mental Illness Surveillance Report, and Jed wants to end the negative stigma existing around these mental health challenges that affect such a significant portion of our population.
Jed created a 60-second film called “Real-Life Superhero.” On April 14th, it was announced that “Real-Life Superhero” won 1st place in the state in the Youth and Young Adult, Mental Health Matters category. This was the first winning submission from Del Norte County since the beginning of the contest in 2014, and Redwood Voice took first place over submissions from UC Davis, Mount San Jacinto College, California Baptist University, Pasadena City College, and University of California Riverside. Jed, Makenzy, and Jacob will attend a red carpet award ceremony in Glendale, Calif. on May 20th. They also attended a local showing in Eureka, Calif. on May 7, and presented at the local Economic Summit in Crescent City on April 29. Jed won $500 and Redwood Voice received $1000 to support suicide prevention and mental health awareness projects.
This kickoff video for the Quiltbags PLUS campaign is a collaboration of Redwood Voice and Gender Talk in partnership with young people enrolled in the 2015 Youth Training Academy. The Quiltbags PLUS Campaign was designed by youth to address visibility and representation of marginalized individuals in the LGBTQ+ communities. The YTA was put on by Building Healthy Communities and California Center for Rural Policy in the Del Norte County and Adjacent Tribal Lands area.
Jacob Patterson of Redwood Voice and Gender Talk, an LGBTQ community group, asks “What Is Pride?” We aim to promote LGBTQ and gender equality, while discussing some of the themes surrounding Gay Pride.
