Partner Spotlight: Storytelling with LA County’s Department of Youth Development + Cause Communications
On September 28, PLUS ME Project led a storytelling workshop for staff of the Los Angeles County Department of Youth Development (DYD), in partnership with Cause Communications. Together, staff reflected on the experiences that led them to their work and strengthened their skills at storytelling to uplift the importance of youth development.
Coming Together
Over the years, PLUS ME has partnered with both Cause Communications and the Los Angeles County Department of Youth Development (DYD). PLUS ME took part in two of Cause Communications’ capacity building training cohorts (funded by the Dwight Stuart Youth Fund) and learned communications strategies that we have implemented as an organization. Along the way, we built a strong connection with them grounded in a shared passion for storytelling that drives impact. We also spent two years serving young people in the San Fernando Valley through DYD’s Youth Development Network, work that included Our Voices, a published collection of stories by students at the Social Justice Humanitas Academy at Cesar Chavez High School.
This fall, those relationships came together. While working with DYD to strengthen how their team shares its impact, Cause Communications brought us in to help staff share their personal stories.
The Workshop
The session began with modeling the art of personal storytelling. Richard Reyes, PLUS ME’s founder and executive director, shared his own story before inviting staff to reflect on theirs.
Stories began to flow as soon as staff reflected on the people who shaped them. Several spoke of teachers from their past, and in those memories they found the roots of the work they do today.
From there, staff revisited a small moment from their work with young people, one that had stayed with them. Slowing down to name what they felt gave them space to reconnect with why they do this work and to put that purpose into words.
“The power of sharing your story first with youth.”
For one participant, the session came down to “the power of sharing your story first with youth.” When the adult in the room offers a piece of themselves, young people can bring their own stories into the space. That exchange builds empathy and connection, and it gives youth role models who have done the work themselves. The workshop closed with PLUS ME’s six steps for building a storytelling culture, and staff discussed how to bring the practice to their colleagues.
Several of the staff in that room remembered an adult who changed the course of their lives. Today, they play that role for young people across Los Angeles County. Their stories, and the stories of the young people they serve, carry the belief at the heart of DYD’s work: every young person deserves the opportunity to heal, grow, and thrive.
We are grateful to Cause Communications for bringing us together, and to DYD staff for trusting us with their stories. We look forward to future collaborations with both organizations as we continue to serve youth in Los Angeles.
Want to bring personal storytelling to your team? Visit our Professional Development page or email info@theplusmeproject.org.
