Young people share trials, triumphs at KidSpeak Detroit

Photo by Debra Mills // Kinita McDaniel, 20, talks about going to school as a teen mom Monday, Feb. 21, 2011, during KidSpeak Detroit.

While many people in southeast Michigan were content to stay home and away from the nearly 10 inches of snow that fell last night, others braved the weather to make it to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit on  Monday, Feb. 21.

That’s where Detroit city leaders, state policymakers and community activists gathered to hear young people talk about what they think should happen with the policies that affect them as part of the 2011 KidSpeak Youth Forum.

The annual event, presented by Michigan’s Children, gave the spotlight to to some bright students ranging in age from 16 to 20 years old who shared their personal stories about what it’s like to be a young person in metro Detroit. Read what Michigan’s Children’s President Jack Kresnak had to say on the event by clicking here.

Topics discussed by the students included teen pregnancy and finishing school while parenting a child at a young age, academic support and funding, foster care and the government budget proposals and how the affect Michigan students.

The teens spoke to an impressive panel of policy makers and advocates including Detroit city council members Ken Cockrel Jr., JoAnn Watson and Saunteel Jenkins; former Michigan Supreme Court Justice and current Director of the Michigan Department of Human Services Maura Corrigan, and President and CEO of the Skillman Foundation Carol Goss. The forum was moderated by Jack Kresnak, president and CEO of Michigan’s Children.

“Thank you for being here to listen to us,” Kinita McDaniel, 20, a graduate of the Ferguson Academy and current student at the University of Phoenix, told the panel.

McDaniel talked about what it was like to complete high school while raising two children of her own, and how alternative schools like Ferguson are needed to help more young girls like herself.

Our Life in the D was there to capture all of the testimonials from the young people and to get reactions from policymakers. Check back soon to see more of what happened at this year’s KidSpeak.

Read China Johnson’s blog by clicking here.

About the author

Our Life in the D Staff wrote 5 articles on this blog.

Our Life in the D (OLID) is a youth-driven journalism (multimedia) training and leadership program that provides young people living in Detroit with a web site to share good news about Detroit's diverse neighborhoods. The program gives a voice to the youth journalists and their communities as they explore various issues in their community. Our Life in the D is a project of Michigan’s Children with support from the McGregor Fund, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Skillman Foundation.

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