Forum on Youth Safety

The annual Youth Safety and Wellness Summit, held July 16 at the Carrillo Rec Center in Santa Barbara, brought about 200 people from 50 organizations together for presentations about concerns and services affecting young people locally. The summit was organized by the South Coast Task Force on Youth Safety, created in 2007 a collaborative effort between community organizations to improve the safety and well-being of youth in the community.

Trauma, and the need for trauma-informed care, was this year's theme. The daylong event included breakout sessions on commercial sexual exploitation of children, suicide prevention, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Findings from the KIDS Network 2017 Children's Scorecard were presented. A teen panel shared firsthand accounts of growing up poor and trying to access local resources, and offered suggestions to better reach out and serve the community.

This youth summit was covered by Noozhawk, KEYT, and the Santa Maria Sun, and all three pieces quoted our own Barb Finch, Children & Adult Networks Director here at DSS. The Independent covered it as well.