A Career as a Youth Advocate

Youth Advocate

In February I went to Hillside to acquire knowledge of the services provided by this agency. Among the many child intervention professions that this agency provided there were different levels of youth advocates. I was referred to a youth advocate and spent a day at Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School shadowing a level two youth advocate. Throughout this day I was exposed to the daily proceedings of a youth advocate and the major functions of the program inside of a high school.

A general statement of what a level two youth advocate is, is someone who works with children/ adolescence in grades 7-12 to provide support and mentoring services to assigned youth that are a part of the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection program. Youth advocates spend most of their time being a supportive adult for students to imitate. They help students successfully transition from high school to college or the workplace. Youth advocates also build and sustain strong relationships with school principals, administrators, teachers, and parents to ensure program reliability and a strong team to help the students strive.

There is a great deal of responsibilities given to a youth advocate. Throughout the day, youth advocates are in their weekly meetings with students to review grades, attendance, social skills, and future plans. They are also in meetings with teachers and administrators getting relevant information about their students and planning service-learning projects and social-life activities. Service-learning projects include: pre-employment readiness training, certification classes, and other such activities. Youth advocates provides transportation services for students to attend tutoring services, enrichment activities, an...

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...g the child’s willingness to accept the help of the team. She also described the purpose of having teachers in the team. Teachers are in charge of grades, and so when a teacher is a part of the team, a youth advocate can be a bridge to help the teacher identify the problems the student might have in class, whether it is the pace of the class or the distraction of other classmates.

Being able to get a job that makes you excited to wake up in the morning is rare; being a youth advocate is one of those jobs. Being able to work closely with students and help them become successful adults is a reward in itself. Youth advocates mentor students, provide tutoring services, and establish a team that's main focus is the future of the student. With all the child intervention services provided by Hillside, being a youth advocate is one I would recommend others to look into.