Let's Talk

National Runaway Safeline Youth Advisory Board members EJ Velez & Rachel Litchman return to the Let's Talk Podcast to discuss invisible disabilities and navigating the healthcare system as a young person experiencing homelessness.

Get involved by registering as an official 2023 National Runaway Prevention Month partner. Follow us on social media,  and consider donating to support crisis services and prevention programs benefiting vulnerable youth.

In this episode of Let's Talk, we hear from Sharday Hamilton, the National Runaway Safeline Youth Fellow and a homeless youth advocate, who was living in her mother's abandoned home when her neighbors reported her to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services after she reached out to them for help. We discuss her courageous personal experience, the barriers to seeking help, and how The Night Ministry assisted Sharday in setting goals and ensuring she was aware of resources available to protect her family.

Learn more about National Runaway Safeline's Youth Advisory Board at 1800RUNAWAY.org/YAB 

Transcripts of the Let's Talk podcast are available at https://1800RUNAWAY.org/transcripts.

For the Season 5 premiere of Let's Talk we have the fortune of talking to Jillian Yearns, an 18-year-old youth homelessness advocated from Georgia. At a very young age, Jillian experienced abuse and was kicked out of her home on multiple occasions, eventually leading her to make the difficult decision to leave home for good. In this episode, Jillian shares what motivated her decision making, how judgmental adults and stigma prevented her from seeking help, and why forgiveness is her most powerful tool when processing trauma.

Jillian is a member of the National Runaway Safeline Youth Advisory Board. To learn more, visit 1800RUNAWAY.org/YAB.

Our conversation with 2023 Celebrating the Spirit of Youth Honoree, David Ambroz, continues! 

In part two we discuss the importance of focusing on past successes, rather than past failures. We also talk about how the foster care system has evolved over the past several decades, and why the first word that should come to mind of when thinking about homelessness is "education."

Click here to learn more about David Ambroz and his memoir, A Place Called Home. 

Click here to follow @DaveAmbroz on Twitter. 

Click here to follow @hjDavidAmbroz on Instagram.

Let's Talk is proud to welcome 2023 Celebrating the Spirit of Youth Honoree David Ambroz! David is a national poverty and child welfare expert/advocate, Emmy nominated, and best-selling author. He was also recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change. 

In part one of this conversation, hear David talk about the impact of having honest conversations with young people. David also talks about what inspired him to write his memoir, A Place Called Home, and how adults can help young people deal with the pressure of peer and social issues.

Click here to learn more about David Ambroz and his memoir, A Place Called Home. 

Angela Lee, Director at love is respect, returns to Let's Talk to discuss Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. In this episode, we learn about this year's theme for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month ("Be About It"), online harassment, enthusiastic consent, and unlearning harmful relationships stereotypes perpetuated by Hollywood.

love is respect offers confidential support for teens, young adults, and their loved ones seeking help, resources, or information related to healthy relationships and dating abuse in the US. They’re available by text (“LOVEIS” to 22522), call (866.331.9474), or live chat online.

#BlueCampaign joins us for the third and final installment of our Human Trafficking series. Karinda L. Washington, Executive Director of Social Impact and Campaigns, talks us through this year's Human Trafficking Prevention Month events, and shares life-saving resources for business, organizations and individuals looking to make a difference in their communities.

Blue Campaign is a national public awareness campaign designed to educate the public, law enforcement, and other industry partners to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and how to appropriately respond to possible cases.

Learn more about If You See Something, Say Something here. Watch the Youth Human Trafficking Scenario animated series here.

For Part 2 of our human trafficking series, we are joined by Tina Bigdeli, Program Manager with National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). In our conversation with discuss sex trafficking recruitment on social media, child sexual abuse material, and what happens when you make a report to a resource like the Cyber Tipline.

NCMEC is the nation's largest and most influential child protection organization.  Learn more at their website MissingKids.org. Learn more about Take It Down here. Learn more about the CyberTipline here.

In the season 4 premiere episode we are joined by Ashley Smith Thompson, a Case Response Specialist with Polaris. We discuss the realities of trafficking and the myths preventing progress.

Polaris works to reshape the systems that allow for sex and labor trafficking in North America and operates the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline. Learn more on at PolarisProject.org and NationalHumanTraffickingHotline.org.

In this season's final episode we are joined by the Executive Director of the National Network 4 Youth (NN4Y), Darla Bardine. NN4Y is strongly devoted to empowering young people with lived experiencing by providing education about local and national politics, and creating opportunities for young people to network with congressional leaders and policy experts. They are also leading the charge in the reauthorization of the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Acti

To learn more about the National Network 4 Youth, visit their website https://nn4youth.org/

To learn about the 2023 National Summit and Hill Day, visit https://nn4youth.org/national-summit-hill-day/

To learn more about RHYTPA, visit https://nn4youth.org/take-action-center/rhytpa-take-action/