2020: A quick look back

By Brie Zeltner

Youthcast Media Group®

2020 was a challenging year filled with uncertainty, hardship and trauma, but it has also been a year that inspired resiliency. 

Our community and students had powerful stories and voices to share, so we adapted our programs to safely continue empowering students with our journalism workshops virtually and sharing the stories they covered about people and their communities through local and national media outlets. We held three journalism workshops:  

1. The Pros and Cons of Antidepressants 

2. Race Matters: Reporting on Structural Racism and Health, and

3. Surviving and Thriving Despite Trauma.

During workshops and independent reporting, students interviewed several prominent experts, including then-Surgeon General Jerome Adams, Baltimore mayoral candidate and now-Mayor Brandon Scott, former New York State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah and former Chief Community Health Officer at CVS Health, Dr. Garth Graham, who is now global head of healthcare and public health at Google/YouTube. Just as importantly, students talked to community members about their own experiences thriving despite trauma, near-death medical disorders and mishaps. 

In 2021, we are hosting five workshops. One, on housing and health, has already begun. Compared to the more than 30 students we trained in 2020, we will teach more than 100 diverse young journalists this year! We have grown from about three part-time contractors a year ago to more than 20 YMG team members, including part-time staff, interns and four full-time employees. We will be covering subjects including housing, transportation, food insecurity, and mental health, especially among young people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community, among other topics.