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Community Trainings/Speakers

Community Training and SpeakersAt The Mockingbird Society, we believe in the power of strategic sharing of stories and the expertise of lived experience. Are you interested in hearing from someone who has experienced foster care and/or homelessness? Our youth advocates want to contribute to community conversations. Mockingbird young people participate on conference panels, workgroups, and other public speaking events. Speakers are in each of the regions where we have Chapters – Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Everett, Spokane, and Yakima. 


The Mockingbird Society also offers an array of trainings for community partners, such as non-profits, government agencies, and private companies. 

The Culture of Foster Care is a training that provides participants with a glimpse of what it is like to be raised in the foster care system. Facilitated by foster youth and alumni of care, this training can help any group better understand the realities of foster care. 

Stories of Youth Homelessness is a youth-led training that answers the questions "Why do young people become homeless?" "How do youth survive the experience and find their way to safe, stable housing and independence?" "How can you help make youth and young adult homelessness a rare, brief, and one-time occurrence?"

Customized Trainings are also available to meet the needs of your organization. Mockingbird staff and youth have customized the above trainings for specific audiences and have also spoken on topics such as effective youth-adult partnerships and how to meaningfully engage young people.

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more.

“Very relevant and great training...[the Youth Network Representative] did a great job of talking about his experience, and beyond his experience, information about culture…With all the conversations about race and culture in our society, his presentation was the best I have seen given, by anyone of any age.”

“Hearing these youth tell their stories is one of the most powerful experiences I have seen in a foster parent training. The foster parents walk away with a realistic idea of what they can do to impact a young person’s life, and with experiences they will never forget.”