During Quarter 1 (July 1, 2024 – September 30, 2024), NCVA conducted a total of 7 trainings to reach the public (e.g. youth and families), provide technical assistance for the workforce, and foster systems level change. 

Upon completion of the trainings, approximately 95% of the participants indicated being satisfied with the results of the trainings and shared positive feedback on the satisfaction surveys.

Chandrika Brown, Collaboration Coordinator and Frederick Douglas, Youth Training Coordinator representing NC Voices Amplified at the Graham Resource Fair.

Quarter 1: July - September

Quarter 2: October - December

Quarter 3: January - March

Quarter 4: April - June

Registrations by County

Participants from various regions across the state of North Carolina attended the trainings.

Frederick Douglas

Family Training Coordinator

As the Family Training Coordinator, it is my role to provide technical assistance to agencies in identifying and hiring authentic family partners. Additionally, I provide technical assistance to family partners seeking to become Nationally Certified Family Peer Specialists This technical assistance for this certification includes meeting monthly with the applicant to discuss any successes and/or concerns about their role as a family partner. In this meeting family partners are provided the requirements to become certified which consists of connecting them to the five required trainings for certification, assistance with updating their resume, completing and reviewing the training documentation form, connecting their supervisors to portals for the verification of peer support hours and supervision verification. In this quarter since July 1, 2024, we have prepared 20 applicants and referred 19 applicants to the National Federation for Family Peer Specialist Certification.

Kara Lynch

Communication & Outreach Coordinator

My success story for the first quarter is that the 6th issue of our quarterly newsletter had a 49.3% open rate. That means almost 50% (213/432 recipients) interacted with the campaign. This is awesome and shows that since beginning the newsletter, our audience engagement has grown. Our 5th issue of the newsletter only had a 38.4% open rate which means we increased our open rate by 10.9%. I'm happy to lead in this venture and even more excited that our impact is growing. I'm hoping the next issue will be even more successful and impactful. We also get the word out by attending conferences across the state as exhibitors. Catch us at a conference near you.

Kara at NC Works Partnership Conference in Greensboro this October

Chandrika Brown

Collaboration Coordinator

When I think of success stories, I normally think of something I do with the families I support. Simply because my main focus has always been to help lighten the load of their journey. However, I do have other dreams and accomplishments that I strive to achieve. When I started my journey as a Family Partner my goal was to be accepted by all entities that engage with families and youth. 

With that acceptance comes buy-in from the families and youth voice at all levels of the service they are providing to the families and youth we serve. With that being said, I was invited to be a part of a team from the Department of Juvenile Justice that was applying to The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy Capstone Project. To be a part of the CJJR Fellows Network and to continue to use this opportunity to help change the lives of our youth and families involved in Juvenile Justice and infuse the family and youth voice from the beginning of involvement until they exit the system. Changing lives and policies one step at a time. 

Kyle Reece

Youth Training Coordinator

One of the great pleasures of providing youth trainings is not only having the opportunity to provide youth and young adults with the tools and skills they need to be leaders within their roles, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to meet young people who are eager and excited to be providing youth peer support and utilizing their advocacy skills. We met a Lissa, a 20-year-old who is getting her GED and came with her LINKS coordinator to our Youth Leadership Academy in September. Not only was she the youth who participated the most in the academy and was eager to share her experiences to further engage the conversation, but she also left with a continued desire to showcase the skills she learned in our advocacy training and was asking us how she can continue to advocate for youth in foster care across North Carolina.

Or take Chloe, who took our Youth Peer Support 101 training in October, and although she is not currently in a role that provides direct peer support, she took the training with the desire to eventually provide peer support, and is excited to learn about her organization can offer leadership opportunities to the youth they serve. Having the opportunity to meet the young people who are passionate about making a difference in their communities, as well as assist them in their efforts by providing training and ongoing technical assistance is truly the highlight of our work!

Willow Burgess-Johnson

Program Manager

North Carolina Youth and Family Voices Amplified (NCVA) is growing to meet the needs of Youth and Families. North Carolina, like many other states across the country is building on the expertise brought to the table by individuals with lived experience to enhance and improve behavioral health services. To keep up with anticipated demand, NCVA is adding additional Youth and Family Training and Technical Assistance Specialists, as well as additional Community Collaboration Specialists across NC. This will allow us to engage in additional projects such as supporting the implementation and evaluation of Family Peer Support services and Youth Engagement specialists across NC. In addition to the support we currently provide to Family Peer Support Specialists who work in High Fidelity Wrap Around, MORES, and/or for LME/MCOs, we anticipate supporting additional Family Peer Support Specialist to work in community settings. We are also very excited to launch our Youth Speakers Bureau. This program will support Youth and Young Adults with lived experience in telling their story, learning about leadership and advocacy skills, and preparing to speak in public, or serve on boards or panels. NCVA is also very excited to partner with statewide and local System of Care Collaboratives to increase youth and family voice at the table. We will be focusing on recruiting Youth and Families with lived experience who are interested in using those experiences to support others, so if you or someone you know might fit that description please encourage them to get involved with NC Voices Amplified. 

Kara and Willow at North Carolina Providers Council Conference in Buncombe County this September

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