Self Care Summit

September is Self-Care Awareness Month, and the OHIO YAB and ACTION Ohio partnered with Hope Valley and the Ohio Supreme Court to facilitate a self care retreat for current and former foster youth (ages 14-24).


Event: 2023 Self Care Summit for Ohio Foster Care Youth and Alumni
Date: Friday, Sept. 8, 2023
Location: The event took place at:

  • Hope Valley (which has a fire pit, outdoor grill, residential kitchen, walking paths and a theater)
  • Address: Hope Valley Retreat Center, 4560 Gratiot Rd SE, Newark, OH 43056
  • Thanks to the Ohio Supreme Court for sponsorship

Registration was free but required. We received RSVPs from Allen, Athens, Belmont, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lawrence, Licking, Lorain, Perry, and Van Wert counties. This event was referenced in an article about Violet’s work at Hope Valley.

Schedule:

  • 9:00 am – Facilitators arrived to set-up
  • 10:00 am – Participant arrival: Icebreaker Balls and Working on Shirts
  • 10:30 am – Participants separated into groups, each with adult staff members and began to explore stations
  • 3:00 pm – Participants reconvened to debrief about the day, their experiences and what they learned
  • 3:30 pm – Departure

Stations included:

  • Creation Station, rock painting and making bath bombs – Nikki and Raven
  • Labyrinth Activity, facilitated by Hope Valley staff – Violet and Jamie
  • Red Flags activity, with physical red and green flags – Violet and Jamie
  • Self Calming activities, creating an internal safe place – Jorie and Kristin
  • Self Care Tools, stress balls and affirmations – Bethany and Ruth-Ann

Here’s a link to: Mapping Out Stations

Handouts:

Planning Committee:

  • ACTION Ohio: Lisa Dickson, Nikki Chinn, Ruth-Ann Jones-Thompson, Dauntea Sledge, Bethany Workman and Amber Dudsak
  • OHIO YAB Ambassadors: Raven Grice and Jewel Harris
  • OHIO YAB Alumni: Cieria Ramon
  • CSCC Professors: Kristin Torres and Jorie Schwartz
  • Hope Valley Blessings: Violet Queen and Jamie Clause

Food:

  • Jamie Clouse and Trevor Donaldson

Topics will include:

  • Boundaries
  • Cognitive Dissonance
  • Domestic Violence and Red Flags
  • Ending the Cycle of Abuse
  • Forgiveness vs. Reconciliation
  • Navigating Interpersonal Conflict (i.e. roommate situations after foster care)
  • Self-Calming Techniques for Anxiety
  • Trauma Responses: Recognizing and Coping With Them
  • When Helping You Is Hurting Me

Supplies included:

  • Shirts for participants and markers for them to write on the shirts
  • Icebreaker balls that focus on self-care
  • Self care donations (i.e. make-up, nail polish and a weighted blanket)
  • Supplies for rock-painting
  • Affirmation cards
  • Stress balls
  • Red Flags and Green Flags for one of the breakout sessions