MY LIFE (Magellan Youth Leaders Inspiring Future Empowerment)

MY LIFE has become an active and powerful voice in planning and implementing changes to improve care for youth in Arizona and across the country. MY LIFE turns youth voice into youth action and has an incredibly positive impact on those who are involved. Some of our activities that help meet our objectives include: MY LIFE Meetings Regular youth meetings are the foundation of MY LIFE. These meetings provide an opportunity for youth to come together and create a community of support, plan activities and initiatives, practice social skills, learn about a variety of topics from presenters, and provide peer-to-peer mentoring. The Arizona group meets twice a month with an average of 70 to 80 youth per meeting. Presentations and Workshops One of the biggest impacts MY LIFE has had, is through our presentations. Presentations are tailored to the specific audience, but typically include: an overview of MY LIFE and our activities, personal stories, video highlights, performances and outcomes related to our accomplishments. These presentations and workshops take place at adult and youth conferences, detention centers, schools, government buildings, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, community events, staff meetings and other locations. Presentations are the primary vehicle for sharing MY LIFE’s message with large numbers of people, and have proven to be a tremendous outreach tool to inspire youth and adults alike. Some MY LIFE presentations include: • Alternatives Conference Anaheim, California • National Federation of Families Conference, Atlanta, Georgia • ASU Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy, Sedona Institute • Are We There Yet? Transition Conference • Mingus Mountain Academy • Scottsdale Boys’ and Girls’ Club • Arizona Girls Roundtable • MY LIFE Youth Day at the Capitol • Arizona Black Expo at US Airways Center • National Federation of Families Conference, Washington, DC • Alternatives Omaha, Nebraska Uniting a Movement of Change Conference • Arizona SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) 2009 Conference. • Council of State Governments Innovation Awards, Santa Fe, New Mexico • Durango Juvenile Detention Center • Canyon State Academy Advocacy Events Our MY LIFE Youth Day at the State Capitol is an opportunity for the group to raise awareness about issues affecting youth. It gives MY LIFE a unique chance to meet face-to-face with Arizona state legislators and government officials to share our concerns and ideas about the issues they feel most affect youth in Arizona—issues they’d like for their state leaders to address. (See Youth Day video) Community Awareness Events MY LIFE is currently planning its fourth annual youth festival, MY Fest ‘11. MY Fest ‘10 drew a crowd of nearly 5,000 people, more than doubling the 2009 event attendance, and featured live music, a best break dancing crew competition, artists, food, youth groups, and a variety of youth and family-based organizations offering information, resources and services. MY Fest is a free a music, art, entertainment and youth involvement festival that was created by MY LIFE for other youth and families. The objective of MY Fest is to provide an opportunity for youth to produce and participate in an inspirational event that will celebrate recovery and resiliency, while also providing them the opportunity to learn about ways to get involved with community programs, employment, volunteering or other activities. This extremely successful youth led event also inspires and educates the community about mental health, substance abuse and foster care-related issues in order to reduce stigma associated with these issues. Stigma reduction One of MY LIFE’s primary goals is to help break down the stigma associated with mental health, substance abuse and foster care issues. MY LIFE utilizes all forms of media to help reduce stigma in the Arizona community and around the country. Our MY Fest events have received TV news coverage from the local Fox, CBS and NBC affiliates and two major radio stations have broadcasted throughout the day from the event. In addition, MY LIFE has been featured on the Clear Channel radio network and in Arizona Teen Magazine, The Arizona Republic, AZ Weekly Magazine and Together AZ. State Senator Kyrsten Sinema praised our group’s efforts to battle behavioral health stigma among young adults, “I think it’s absolutely wonderful that MY LIFE has been so proactive in confronting these issues and affecting change in the system. These young adults care so much about their community that they are using their shared experiences to improve the way care is delivered to people in need. This is exactly the type of activism we hope for in younger generations, and I’m thrilled that Magellan has taken the initiative to use their energy in a positive and constructive way.”