The Hope Matrix

The Youth Perspective on Hope in a Time of Despair with Martin Rafferty

This week's episode follows Martin Rafferty, Executive Director of Youth Era, who discusses how youth are stepping up and creating change. Youth Era is a national non-profit that is revolutionizing how we view youth engagement; an organization which came out of the chaos of Rafferty's childhood marked by domestic violence, abuse, and neglect. At the age of 12, Rafferty came home to find a note on the door from his mother that read, "this isn't your home anymore." By 22, Rafferty had dramatically changed his life; not only had he been adopted and moved across the country, but he also launched Youth MOVE Oregon (the predecessor of Youth Era) based on his own experience accessing services as a homeless/foster youth. Rafferty and his team at Youth Era have taken their experience nationwide to provide technical assistance and training to over 26,000 people in 24 states. They specialize in training in the areas of peer support, positive youth development, prevention, and postvention for crises, including youth suicide and school shootings. For his resilience and accomplishments, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center highlighted Martin Rafferty as one of eight global changemakers.

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