In Case You Missed It – CARE Coalition Conference

Greeting readers! 

In case you missed it, this blog is dedicated to recapping the events of the 4th annual CARE Coalition conference which took place on March 3rd, 2023, at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa from 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. From the exhibitor tables to the breakout sessions, to the wonderful keynote speakers, all the way to the strawberry cheesecake served during lunch, there was a lot happening! Let’s dive in!

This year’s conference theme was “Empowering Communities and Inspiring Youth”, and the focus was rebuilding lost connections and how adults in the community can help youth better understand how these changes affect their growing brains. In attendance, there were 15 exhibitors, 2 keynote speakers, 6 breakout sessions for attendees to choose from, and 1 youth panel video. In total, there were 159 participants present! 

The day started with registration and attendees visiting exhibitor booths to learn about many wonderful resources available for communities here across the valley. Our first keynote speaker, the captivating Brandon Farbstein, a 23-year-old renowned speaker, Gen Z activist, and author, spoke on his experience living with an extremely rare form of dwarfism, metatropic dysplasia. Brandon spoke about his mission to Elevate Empathy® and delivered an inspiring presentation on how important it is to be your “you-est you”, and embrace your authentic self.  If you have not yet read Brandon’s books, Ten Feet Tall and a kid’s book about SELF-LOVE, you can learn more about them by visiting Brandon’s website at https://brandonfarbstein.com/. 

The first round of breakout sessions consisted of the following:

Karen Torres and Cassandra Smith discussed building youth-adult partnerships and how important it is to build these relationships to better understand what youth need. Youth-adult partnerships allow youth to be involved in the decision-making process to create youth-oriented goals and projects. By allowing youth to collaborate with adults on programs and projects, adults will get a better understanding of what issues young people are facing.

The session focused on five steps: Define, Recognize, Act, Discuss, and Educate. The session continued with discussing the consequences for someone who is bullied, the effects on someone being bullied, Arizona bullying laws, and the reporting process.  Empathy, resiliency, and communication with youth were reviewed, and the workshop concluded with tips on creating an action plan and additional steps for helping youth.

This workshop shared how tech use is rapidly expanding (Did you know that every social media user has an average of 7 different accounts?). Tech use is affecting youth’s social skills, empathy, creativity, motivation, and parts of brain development, and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. The workshop shared ways to limit tech use like having designated no phone times, turning off social media or all notifications, not leaving your phone by your bed at night, and regularly practicing tech-free nights or ‘tech fasting’.

Following the first round of breakout sessions, attendees viewed the youth panel video focusing on the past and current projects of the CARE Coalition’s Youth Leadership Council (YLC), which provides youth a voice in their community, and a place to learn and develop leadership skills. The video featured Touchstone Health Services’ very own Daisy Pacheco (Community Liaison) and Karina Herrera (Prevention Supervisor), as well as featuring Alhambra and Glendale YLC students.

The second inspiring keynote speaker was physical and mental health activist, Clayton Echard! If the name is ringing a bell, the chance is you’ve seen him on Season 26 of ABC’s The Bachelor. Clayton’s compelling presentation included personal stories and experiences with body dysmorphia, depression, comparison culture, cyberbullying, and more that left viewers with his message “of how rewriting their own narrative is a tangible possibility, so as long as they first possess the self-confidence and resiliency to do so”. Clayton also released his book, 180 Degrees: On Mental Health, Mindfulness, and Unlocking Self-Belief, so make sure to check it out at claytonechard.com.

 

The second round of breakout sessions included: 

A recap of the session from a viewer: “Brandi Jordan, the speaker for Rise Up! Glendale shared many interesting facts and stories regarding the use of fentanyl. Ms. Jordan’s presentation was emotional for all of us because the presentation discussed how our youth are getting access to these counterfeited pills and some strategies adults can use when educating their youth on the use of fentanyl and counterfeit pills. The second half of Rise Up! Glendale’s presentation focused on Narcan, what an overdose looks like, and what we can do to reverse the overdose. Brandi Jordan Rise Up! Glendale also provided the audience with their own Narcan and a certificate. At the end of the presentation, audience members had a lot of questions and were thankful for the information that was presented. Ms. Jordan did an amazing job at presenting the facts and being respectful to everybody that showed up to her presentation.” 

The session focused on how parents and school personnel can implement healthy relationships and safe dating discussions both at home and in a school setting. It reviewed current teen dating violence trends and statistics, defined red and green relationship flags (unhealthy vs healthy relationship behaviors), and provided a D.U.M.P. method for starting conversations with youth. The D.U.M.P. acronym stands for Detach, Upfront, Materials, and Positive. 

This workshop reviewed what sex trafficking is, common terminology, examples, and prevalence. This session went into detail about common locations in the Phoenix Metropolitan area where trafficking may occur and the influence/impact that the internet and social media platforms have. The session concluded by discussing indicators, how schools can address these situations, and ways to help as community members. 

The day concluded with a brief closing remark where attendees, exhibitors, and presenters were thanked, and a few people won raffles (Congratulations to the raffle winners!). Also, a huge shoutout to Maria Tena, Prevention Supervisor, from Touchstone Health Services who worked diligently to ensure the day happened and happened so smoothly!  

On behalf of the CARE Coalition, THANK YOU to all our speakers, vendors, members, and everyone who played a part in making this conference a success!