Promoting Change through Youth Engagement

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

• Kerri Ashurst PhD, University of KentuckyFollow
• Tyrone C. Atkinson, University of KentuckyFollow

First Presenter's Institution

University of Kentucky

First Presenter’s Email Address

kgoodman@email.uky.edu

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Dr. Ashurst is a Senior Extension Specialist for Family and Relationship Development at the University of Kentucky. She has worked in Extension for 26 years with a focus on underserved audiences. She has spearheaded all aspects of this life-skills program since its inception 14 years ago. Dr. Ashurst has a Ph.D. in Family Sciences; an M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy; and a B.A. in Psychology.

Second Presenter's Institution

University of Kentucky

Second Presenter’s Email Address

tcatki2@uky.edu

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Tyrone Atkinson is an Extension Specialist for Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Kentucky. He has worked in Extension for 15 years with a focus on youth development and military youth and families. He has facilitated programming through this life skills program for 6 years. Mr. Atkinson has an M.S. in Community & Leadership Development and a B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences.

Submitter

I am submitting this proposal as one of the presenter(s)

Location

Scarbrough 5

Strand #1

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Strand #2

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

We will share information about our collaboration between Cooperative Extension Services at Kentucky State University and the University of Kentucky to create the research-informed and trauma-informed program model called "Kentucky Youth Engagement and Support" (PCYE). The program employs a multidisciplinary Positive Youth Development and Trauma-Informed approach that views youth in the context of the family and community and develops programming based on local needs and grounded in research. During our presentation we will share information about and share the process we use to locate partners and participants, especially focusing on youth who are at increased risk of homelessness in adulthood.

Brief Program Description

Come learn about a comprehensive life skills program for unstably housed youth through Kentucky State University and the University of Kentucky. The program employs a multidisciplinary Positive Youth Development and Trauma-Informed approach that views youth in the context of family and community and develops programming based on local needs. Participants will learn tips and tools on how to teach leadership skills to underserved youth audiences.

Summary

During this workshop we will share creative strategies for recruiting, implementing programs for, and retaining underserved youth as well as effective evaluation. We will cover topics including the 4-H Thriving Model and using a poverty and trauma informed lens for program implementation, evaluation, and sustainability. This workshop will be interactive and presenters will encourage the audience to take part in transparent dialogue about the barriers involved in working with underserved youth and how to overcome them. We will interweave topics that will be salient to the audience, including use of equity, poverty, and trauma lenses, creating safety and belongingness, and social justice. We will also move the audience into dialogue about a strength-based focus, including empowerment and voice, protective factors, barrier removal, resilience, supportive environment, and mental health. We will incorporate competencies needed to engage youth in poverty into the discussions, especially focusing on understanding how implicit social bias affects our work; developing inclusive programming and policies that better reach these underserved youth; and cultivating partnerships with entities and organizations in our communities to provide more effective outreach for youth in poverty and homelessness and to serve as a support system for one another. Participants will leave with creative ideas for community engagement for program replication, networking and ideas for youth voice with underserved audiences. We will focus on our PCYE model for evolution of programming that is youth-first. We will also provide "take home" learning opportunities for participants to develop partnerships and relationships to reach out to unstably housed youth.

Evidence

Our program model employs a multidisciplinary Positive Youth Development and Trauma-Informed approach that views youth in the context of the family and community and develops programming based on local needs and grounded in research. We have been developing this model for over 14 years now and tracking short- and long- term outcomes through 3 funding cycles. The project brings together a multidisciplinary team of Cooperative Extension professionals from two land-grant universities (1862 and 1890). We provide comprehensive life skills programming for youth utilizing the Kentucky Youth Engagement and Support Program Model with the YMCA Safe Place Services Model as the underlying structural frameworks to increase skills needed for self-sufficiency in adulthood through formal and informal implementation of peer-reviewed, research-based curricula including Botvin Transitions, Relationship Smarts, Strengthening Families Program, and more.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to gain creative ideas for program replication and networking.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to learn ideas for overcoming challenges to target unstably housed youth

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to tailoring the Botvin Life Skills program for Black and Brown youth.

Keyword Descriptors

life skills, unstably housed youth, career and education exploration, leadership skills

Presentation Year

2026

Start Date

3-3-2026 10:15 AM

End Date

3-3-2026 11:30 AM

Recommended Citation

Ashurst, Kerri PhD and Atkinson, Tyrone C., "Promoting Change through Youth Engagement" (2026). National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference. 46.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2026/2026/46