Justin & Alexis Black

When it comes to serving foster youth, are you the hero or the savior? Actually, you’re neither… Like many other foster care alumni, Justin and Alexis Black’s journey through the foster care system internalized the abuse and neglect they experienced with their biological family. Both have been able to analyze how trauma has been normalized in families and in their upbringing, the foundational piece that children need growing up; are patient adults, supportive community members, and a healthy and reasonable standard of expectations. During this session, we assist advocates as they begin to understand the role they play in the foster care system and ways in which they must be self-reflective in order to serve as a complementary component to the success of the youth themselves. With a change in perspective and approach to building relationships, this workshop challenges foster care alumni, parents, and advocates to be aware and intentional about redefining the “normal.”

The Redefining, Rethinking, Reflecting: Developing an Intentional Community Environment for Those Who’ve Experienced Trauma workshop discusses strategies and techniques developed by foster care alumni, Justin and Alexis Black, as they combined the information they’ve learned from healthy foster parents, counselors, advocates, and ultimately their lived experience. By sharing their personal story of overcoming, they discuss the role of a foster parent and advocate as well as the necessary resources to surround themselves with in order to be a positive partner in the lives of the youth themselves. Our goal is to help advocates understand that fostering is a collaborative process for both the youth and the parent. We highlight the components of that relationship as well as the aspect of the community that needs to be formed in a healthy and loving environment.

• Prepare parents, adults, and other community members to establish a healthy environment that welcomes and nurtures the strength and abilities of youth.

• Instruct community leaders and advocates on ways to become better leaders for youth and those with trauma.

• Learning objective 3: Identify methods of self-care for advocates and community members while understanding their role in the success of the community.

It is our duty to lead and provide opportunities for the youth, families, and communities we serve. Diligent work is required in order to restore confidence in youth and families and progress toward a more optimistic future. As leaders in this space, advocates must be able to teach and exemplify healthy strategies of communication, along with displaying methods of resourcefulness.

Serial entrepreneurs, foster care alumni, and best-selling authors of “Redefining Normal: How Two Foster Kids Beat The Odds And Discovered Healing, Happiness and Love”, Justin & Alexis seek to support professionals in their leadership journey of persevering through the barriers that community building offer. This session will equip advocates with the ability to nurture leadership skills and abilities for other families and youth.

Learning Objectives:

• Enable advocates to communicate healthily in order to build sustainable relationships

• Identify necessary skill sets needed for leadership as youth prepare for adulthood

• Supply families with the autonomy needed to build positive foundational values

With a variety of personalities, experiences, and skillsets, it is important that we explore the formers of leadership needed for each situation. As leaders in our organization or household, we need to know how to explore the different forms of leadership and communication to discuss what aspects of our skillset we need to use for each scenario. In this discussion-based, interactive session, we allow participants to identify which approaches are best suited for them as leaders while acknowledging the dangers that come with each style of leadership.

As youth who’ve been limited to the confines of our city and sometimes our neighborhood, we initially believed that that's all there is to life. As we expanded our knowledge along with our life experiences, we found that information is one the most important things we could have, and information is not limited to where we were born. The world is now more connected than it's ever been. We believe that there are invaluable resources and opportunities available beyond our border limits

An aspect of the Redefining Normal is not only mental and emotional growth but expanding the limitations to our physical environment as well. Youth and students often miss out on traveling and taking their educational experiences to another country. During this presentation we the benefit and importance of studying abroad, debunking the myths of study abroad, and lastly providing resources, scholarships, and opportunities available for students looking to study abroad.

Learning Objectives:

• Create a pathway for students to study abroad.
• Help students identify how study abroad could be beneficial for them.
• Debunk the myths of traveling and studying abroad while identifying outlets to do so.