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Youth Employment Series (YES) Meet, Lead, and Eat! Preparing Yourself for Life

In April, join the LightHouse Youth Employment Series, YES, workshop emphasizing the importance of teamwork, leadership and living skills as youth collaborate with one another in interactive activities throughout the weekend to prepare for life after high school. During the Saturday portion of YES, students will gather with peers from all around the state for the 3rd annual Youth Institute as part of the CTEBVI annual conference in Burlingame, CA. Youth will have the opportunity to meet peers, connect with blind and low vision mentors, gain additional information on adaptive technology, knowing their rights, and advocacy, as well as peruse the Exhibit Hall with over 30 resources!

YES workshops are monthly weekend-long learning experiences emphasizing the vocational enrichment of low vision and blind youth, increasing and providing access to a multifaceted array of mentorship, employment readiness skills, and alternative accessible techniques. During the Sunday portion of the workshop, youth will take the skills they learned to the next level, applying their leadership and living skills in hands-on activities involving orientation and mobility, cooking, and technology use. The weekend is spent learning from blind and low vision mentors and engaging in creative hands-on activities which further support youth to explore and achieve their individualized and professional aspirations.

Workshop Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will expand their understanding of rights and responsibilities as blind and low vision youth as they explore options after high school and to prepare for their futures.
2. Transition age youth will receive information on advocacy and informed choice as they implement these concepts using interactive scenarios in different aspects of their lives from school and college, to independent living, to work.
3. Students will increase their knowledge and exposure to assistive technology options and learn how to maximize the technology they currently possess in different settings such as home, in school, and beyond.
4. The overnight nature of the YES workshop provide opportunities for students to refine their workplace readiness soft skills including effective social and professional communication and independent living all while building community with their blind and low vision peers and mentors.

Things to Bring:
1. A notetaking device or implement (braille notetaker, pen and paper, slate and stylus, phone with keyboard, laptop, etc.). You will be asked to complete activities electronically.
2. Necessities you may need such as any orientation and mobility tools to travel safely, money for transportation to and from the workshop, or personal medication.

If you are interested in participating in the April YES Weekend Workshop, please:
1. Contact your Department of Rehabilitation counselor to discuss workshop attendance and authorization.
2. Confirm attendance with Ann Wai-Yee Kwong, Transition Program Specialist, by email at youth@lighthouse-sf.org or by phone at 415-694-7328. If you have any questions or would like to pay for your participation in the workshop, please contact youth@lighthouse-sf.org. Each workshop costs $950 to attend for the entire weekend. Please note, space for this program is limited to 16 students and workshop attendance must be confirmed one week prior. RSVP by April 8.