“Life As Told by Youth”
Colorado Division of Child Support Services
Federal Economic Mobility Grant | 2020–2024
A four-year, youth-led prevention & storytelling initiative designed to improve youths’ economic mobility reimagine how a state agency engages young people before crisis.
Scope
• 21 youth interviews integrated into curriculum design
• Two original short films written, produced, and acted by participating youth
• Implementation across incarcerated and community-based youth settings
• Interactive workshops delivered within Division of Youth Services facilities
• 10-week targeted social media campaign
• 48,476 youth reached statewide
Life. As Told By Youth illustrates our approach to strategic storytelling:
One implementation.
Multiple returns.
Serving participants, agencies, and funders simultaneously — while building long-term narrative infrastructure.
Methodology
This project combined:
Positive Youth Development practices
Behavioral-science-informed engagement
Youth-led narrative creation
Community-level social marketing
Systems-level agency collaboration
Rather than a traditional awareness campaign, the initiative positioned youth as experts in messaging to their peers — transforming storytelling into a prevention strategy.