John C. Liu, teen writer Akeema Lottman and William C. Thompson at the 2009 Ippies

FIRST PRIZE in the category of Best Article on immigrant issues, racial or social justice was awarded to the story "University of Kitchen," by Orubba Almansouri in the only New York-area competition recognizing excellence among journalists, photographers, graphic artists, editors and publishers of the ethnic and community press. Orubba's story vividly describes the conflict between her desire to go to college and her father's insistence that she get married. We were competing against the best stories from the adult ethnic and independent media.

HONORABLE MENTION in the category of Best coverage on education issues was awarded to Akeema Lottman for "Too Many Schools: Moving Every Year Makes It Hard to Graduate." The story, which appeared in the March, 2009 issue of our foster care magazine Represent, focuses on her experience of attending four high schools because of frequent, abrupt moves through the foster care system. Amazingly, Akeema still managed to graduate on time. As with Orubba's story, Akeema was competing entirely against adult media and adult writers.

The Association of Educational Publishers names Represent magazine a winner in the 2009 Distinguished Achievement Awards

“Now What? Leaving the System: A Special Issue on Permanency” (Represent) won the top prize in the category of “Best One-Theme Issue.”

New Youth Connections’ special series Election 2008: Will Your Voice Be Heard? was named a finalist in the category of "Best Series."

The New York Commmunity Media Alliance honors Youth Communication at the 2008 Ippies Awards

The Ippies are the only New York-area competition recognizing excellence among journalists, photographers, graphic artists, editors and publishers of the ethnic and community press.

Teen writer Donald Moore's story "Prisoners in Our Schools" receives Second Prize for "Best Commentary/Editorial."

Represent magazine receives an honorable mention for "Best Design."

Youth Communication's publications are winners in two categories in the Association of Educational Publishers' 2008 Distinguished Achievement Awards

1) "Welcome Home? When a Parent is Addicted" (Represent) is a winner in the category of "Best One-Theme Issue" by the Association of Educational Publishers. Read selected stories from "Welcome Home? When a Parent Is Addicted" here.

2) Our curriculum Real Stories, Real Teens is the winner in the category of "Best Curriculum for a Specialized Audience (Non Fiction)." Click here for more information and to order.

New Youth Connections receives award in the Student Print category in Mental Health America's 2007 Media Awards competition

In the story "Walking Away From the Fight," the teen author describes how she turns to therapy to deal with her father's rage.
Read "Walking Away From the Fight" here.

Youth Communication's publications are finalists in four categories in the Association of Educational Publishers' 2007 Distinguished Achievement Awards

1) "Climbing Out: It's Not Too Late to Graduate" (New Youth Connections) is a finalist in the category of "Best One-Theme Issue."
Read selected stories from "Climbing Out" here

2) "Straight Slummin' It: Coming Up From the Streets" (Represent) is the winner in the category of "Best One-Theme Issue."
Read selected storied from "Straight Slummin' It" Here

3) Our book Do You Have What It Takes? A Guide to Success After Foster Care is the winner in the category of "Best Curriculum for a Specialized Audience (Non Fiction)."
Click here to order.

4) Our 25th anniversary celebration program is the winner in the category of "Best Anniversary Edition."
Click here to read the 25th anniversary Program (pdf)

5) "How the Other Half Lives," Natasha Santos' article about her visit to wealthy suburban school is a finalist in the category of "Best Feature Article."
Read "How the Other Half Lives" here.

Miguel Ayala receives an Honorable Mention for Best Feature from the Independent Press Association for "No Place to Go" in October 2006.

In his story, Miguel tells how he coped with mental illness and aging out of foster care without a home. This is an exceptional honor as it is the first time Represent has competed with adult publications of all circulations such as the Forward, The Indypendent and The Haitian Times.

Read Miguel Ayala's story, "No Place to Go" here.

Represent wins Distinguished Achievement Award in June 2006

Represent won the Distinguished Achievement Award in the category of best one-themed issue from The Association of Educational Publishers.

The winning issue, "From One System to Another: Foster Care and Criminal Justice" (Sept/Oct 2005) features Miguel Ayala's story of coping with mental illness and searching for a home as he ages out of foster care. Teen writers also share their experiences of getting locked up and solutions for how to keep young people out of the justice system.

Read selected stories from the winning issue here.

The Independent Press Association gives New Youth Connections two awards in October 2005

1) "The Hard Sell," Cara Brumfield's story about her visit with an army recruiter, won second place in the category of best investigative reporting: Read it here.

2) "I Can Do It Myself," Tania Morales' story about how she asserts her independence in a wheelchair, won honorable mention in the category of best feature article: Read it here.

Youth Communication is the winner in three categories in the 2005 journalism contest sponsored by the National Mental Health Association

1) "Rape in the Family: Two Sisters Break Their Silence," a Represent story about managing the trauma of rape, is the winner in the category for national magazines with circulation under 1 million. Read it here: Two Sisters Break Their Silence.

2) "On the Razor's Edge," a New Youth Connections story about a young woman's struggle with cutting, is the winner in the best Local/Regional magazine category.
Read it here: On the Razor's Edge

3) A series of four stories in Represent about living with mentally ill family members, "Living With Ghosts," is the winner in the category of best student investigative journalism. Shannel Walker's story about her mother's mental illness is here: Living With Ghosts

Represent wins Judges' Award
from The Association of Educational Publishers

Represent was awarded a special Judges' Award for overall excellence by The Association of Educational Publishers on June 8, 2005. Represent was also a finalist for the Golden Lamp, awarded to the best educational magazine in the country each year. This year is the second time that Represent has been a finalist for the Golden Lamp. It is the only teen-written magazine ever to achieve that distinction.
For more information on the magazine, go to www.youthcomm.org/Publications/FCYU.htm.


Fighting the Monster wins Distinguished Achievement Award for best young
adult book

Youth Communication's 225-page manual on teen mental health issues, Fighting the Monster, won the Distinguished Achievment Award for best young adult book for a specialized audience in the annual contest sponsored by The Assocation of Educational Publishers. The manual consists of 40 stories by teens about coping with their own mental health issues and those of family members. It also includes teen interviews with mental health professionals and a teen-friendly guide to accessing mental health services. The manual is $59.95 at the Youth Communication store.
Click here to order.

Represent writers featured on PBS

Daniella Anderson

Former Represent writer Daniella Anderson was featured in the PBS documentary Aging Out, which aired nationally on Thursday, May 26th. The documentary, directed by Academy Award nominee Roger Weisberg, chronicled the lives of three youth as they left care. A high point of the film is Daniella's marriage to Veasna Rin Hover, another teen participant at Youth Communication. Listen to an interview with Daniella on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation
(May 23, 2005).

Giselle John

The film was sponsored by the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Program. It is accompaneid by a book about the experiences of teens aging out of foster care, On Their Own, which features former Represent writer Giselle John.

Giselle and Daniella have spoken widely about their experiences at foster care conferences across the country and worked to promote youth voices and greater youth involvement in foster care practice and policy-making.

President's Council Award

The President's Council on the Arts and the Humanities named Youth Communication one of America's 10 best youth programs.