A Thousand Whispers: Hopeworks Camden Training Team Lead is using their voice for youth advocacy and healing

A thousand whispers said in unison can sound like a shout—one just has to find their own voice. Hopeworks Camden Training Team Lead Jase Elam found theirs through youth advocacy and is using it to guide the next generation of young people toward healing. 

Hopeworks is a Community-Based Organization (CBO) that supports students by providing trauma-informed care, skill development, and real-world job experience. It’s also one of the founding members of the statewide New Jersey Opportunity Youth Coalition - a group of organizations throughout the state who are dedicated to advocating for policy change to remove the barriers that inhibit opportunity youth’s success.  

Before Jase was working at Hopeworks and training young people to conduct professional development sessions on building trauma-informed spaces, however, they were a “shy individual” who struggled with their mental health and gender identity. According to Jase, while in high school, they were “suffering and suicidal” and struggled academically as a result. 

Since they went to an online high school, Jase lacked many of the mental health and general support services that other schools provided. Unfortunately, attending a school that lacks the resources necessary for support and growth is not uncommon—many students experience push-out and become disengaged from school. Furthermore, 38% of students who disengaged from school expressed that they were getting poor grades, or failing. With the combination of a lack of resources and present mental health challenges, students like Jase who are struggling academically can be pushed into the margins and fall into disconnection.

That’s one of the reasons CBOs like Hopeworks are so vital - they fill the gaps in public systems that many young people fall into. Although Jase did not receive support from Hopeworks directly, they did find a community that helped them stay engaged - an LGBTQ+ youth group they helped expand, a space where their voice crescendoed and they broke out of their shell. 

“After going, it was the shift that I needed to really pull me out of my shell. I was like, ‘Okay, it's not me being a problem, it's me being in a community with people that align with who I am as a person,’” said Jase. “So from there, I started to be a youth ambassador for them and kind of doing training and talking about how to support LGBT youth in different ways.”

Another factor that drove Jase into advocacy was their siblings’ experience in the foster care system. Jase was raised by their grandmother, while their siblings were in the foster care system. 

“My reasons for getting into youth advocacy had nothing to do with me and my experiences,” they said. “All my conceptualization at that time was of [how] my siblings were being treated, and how they were being told to look up to me and how I knew that I was not actually a role model for them, because our experiences were completely different.” 

According to Measure of America, disconnected youth ages 16 and 17 are more than twice as likely to live apart from both parents when compared to connected youth, 21.7 percent versus 8.3 percent, and that “living apart from one’s parents at this age may indicate traumatic childhood experiences, and lacking parental guidance in the transition to adulthood poses significant challenges.” It’s statistics like these that motivated Jase to advocate for other young people facing similar obstacles. 

The mentorship Jase dedicated themselves to providing their siblings - the unwavering support amidst obstacles and struggles - is the same guidance and support that they now provide to young people at Hopeworks. 

“It's incredible,” said Jase. “Just watching people come into the training room and seeing how they are when they first start the program, and then watching how they progress is really important to me.” Jase’s role at Hopeworks enables them not only to continue to develop their ability to train and support young people, but also to foster the same sense of community that they only found in their LGBTQ+ youth group within the Hopeworks community every day. 

Jase is currently enrolled in the Community College of Philadelphia pursuing an associate's degree in social/behavioral science with dual admission to Temple University studying for a bachelor's degree in social work - all the while loving their time at Hopeworks. 

Given their high school experience, Jase could have become one of the many young people that are a part of the dropout statistics. But by finding their community and their voice, Jase could withstand the noise and turn their obstacles into a melody—one that would be heard by and serve as inspiration for the youth they support at Hopeworks. Jase’s daily work at Hopeworks ensures that the next generation of young people feel supported, affirmed and that they have the ability to heal and advocate for themselves. Through the highs and lows of their own journey, Jase continues to heal and amplify the voices of young people — increasing each decibel from a whisper to a shout.