Patrick Administration Hosts Second Bi-Annual Youth Empowerment Initiative

Youth-led, adult-supported event encourages positive action in communities

BOSTON — The Patrick Administration’s Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) today hosted a day-long conference designed to support, engage and encourage over 500 young people to work proactively towards positive change in their communities. The summit, Connecting for Change, was an opportunity for Massachusetts youth to learn and discuss ways to participate in and influence efforts to address public health issues at the local level.

Attendees at the conference in Marlborough were joined by Executive Office of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. JudyAnn Bigby and DPH Commissioner John Auerbach. The event was sponsored by the DPH Office of Adolescent Health and Youth Development in partnership with the Governor’s Statewide Youth Council.

“We know that young people can play an important role in making changes in their own lives and in their communities, if they’re only given the chance,” said EOHHS Secretary Bigby. “Today’s conference is designed to give them the tools, resources, and most importantly the confidence to make a positive impact where they live.”

Throughout the day, participants and presenters had the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue and planning sessions to incorporate the voice of youth into concrete strategies for

community change. Ideas generated at today’s conference will be submitted to the Governor’s Youth Council, which will in turn present them as larger recommendations to Governor Patrick.

“Events like today’s summit are a wonderful way to tap into the energy, imagination and drive of our young people, and to harness those invaluable resources towards creative solutions to the challenges that these young people and their communities face every day,” said DPH Commissioner Auerbach.

Youth participants at the conference were also joined by adult allies from schools, faith-based organizations, after-school programs, healthcare facilities, outreach programs and other youth serving organizations.

Today’s meeting was the second such statewide Youth Empowerment Initiative convened by DPH. The first summit was held in December 2007, and attracted over 400 participants who learned ways to creatively engage with their communities on public health issues. Building on that success, DPH began planning for today’s summit in partnership with Governor’s Statewide Youth Council, which was established by Governor Patrick in 2008 in an effort to encourage and motivate young people to become more involved in their communities.

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