‘Let the Youth Lead’

In 2005, Napa County officials came to On The Move, a local nonprofit, desperate to move the needle on positive outcomes for foster and homeless youth. 

“Back then, foster youth were hitting the streets at age 18 with a garbage bag filled with all of their possessions, and too many of them ended up homeless,” says Amber Twitchell, the current Director at VOICES Youth Programs. On The Move firmly believes that to really make a difference, current and former foster youth need the opportunity to use their own voice, and a chance to develop and lead their own programs. “Let the youth lead,” they told them. Napa leaders agreed, and VOICES was born. 

Since that time, VOICES has stayed true to its commitment to authentic youth leadership and believes the ultimate goal is to support youth to believe that they are capable, lovable and worthy of great things. 

Twitchell gives much of the credit of VOICES’ success to participating youth, who not only provided the blueprint for their own services, but joined the organization as staff members, channeling their deep knowledge of the issues and empathy for their peers into a scrappy but effective nonprofit. Almost all staff are formerly foster and/or homeless youth, running everything from coordinating psychiatric services, managing cases, and functioning as front-line responders.

Since its start in the oughts, VOICES Napa has been replicated in Sonoma County and Solano County, and VOICES programs have taken root in Santa Clara and Monterey counties as well. In recognition of this work, in 2016 Twitchell received the Nonprofit Leadership Award from the North Bay Business Journal.

Thirteen years ago, Odelia Bueno was on track to become a statistic. The youngest of 11 kids in a family roiled by violence, she entered foster care at 15. Seeing her leadership potential, VOICES hired her, and she has since worked her way up to become VOICES Napa’s Independent Living Program Case Manager.

Part of what she does is logistical, and usually urgent. “I help youth figure out immediate goals like housing and food,” Bueno says. “What do they do if they will be homeless in two weeks? Sometimes I drive a youth in my car to find housing. Sometimes I get them gift cards for food.”

The other part is helping them believe that things can improve. She is living proof. “When I visit youth in juvenile probation, I tell them that I have been through similar experiences. I have six brothers who have been in and out of prison. I open up to them, and they are like, ‘Wow. You came from a family like this, and you made it through!’”

Now a mother of a two-year-old daughter, Bueno has even more motivation to help others, and keep herself on track, listening to her own voice as well as those of her mentors and peers.

“Growing up with VOICES has given me so much, and the only thing I want to do now is give back. As I tell the youth I work with, every day is still a struggle, but I know I can make it through the day,” Bueno says.