BRATTLEBORO — Katarina “Kat” Rayno, 21, of Brattleboro, a peer outreach worker for Youth Services and a single mother of a one-year-old, was recently awarded the 2012 William E. Mikell “Spirit of Youth” award from the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs in Vermont at a gathering of 150 guests at the Burlington Country Club.
Receiving a standing ovation from the filled-to-capacity dining room, the award was presented to Rayno in celebration of her strength and success in overcoming significant life challenges and in appreciation of her services to others.
Rayno said she felt honored to be singled out for the award. “It acknowledges all the struggles I've been through and have overcome,” she said.
According to the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs nomination guidelines, the award provides the Council and the public an opportunity to learn from a young person's direct experience about the hard work and dedication it takes to build a better life, as well as how juvenile justice professionals and systems can most effectively be of help.
The mission of the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs is to advocate for and promote healthy children, families, and communities, and to eradicate child abuse, delinquency, and other forms of violence.
Danielle Southwell, Assistant Director of Youth Development for Youth Services, said she nominated Rayno for the award because she has been impressed and inspired by the young woman's ability to grow into a mature, thoughtful, and active member of the community, despite her rocky start.
Southwell recalled that when they first met, Rayno was supporting a friend who was leaving a violent relationship. “Little did I know at the time that this was just the first example of Kat acting as an advocate for her peers,” said Southwell.
Several months later, Rayno became Southwell's client, shortly after giving birth to her son, Kamden. As Southwell describes it, Rayno was staying between two overcrowded housing situations and was struggling with significant symptoms of postpartum depression. She had dropped out of high school, had never had a job, and desperately needed a stable home for herself and her newborn.
However, while Rayno was at risk of drug and alcohol use, she chose a different path, Southwell said. She became a participant in Youth Services' Transitional Living Program, the HCRS JOBS program, Voc Rehab, counseling, psychiatry, Reach Up, and WIC and Early Education Services for her son.
“While Katarina used these services to assist her, she did not 'take advantage' of them,” Southwell said. “Through Kat's own determination, intelligence, and resilience she has set herself on a path of accomplishments, with a focus on realizing all of the potential she has as a young female leader.”
A model for her peers
Now housed in her own apartment through Windham Housing Trust's Life Skills House, an apartment building specifically for young mothers, Rayno has made a clean, organized, child-focused home, according to Southwell, where she prepares herself and her son healthy meals and snacks and where she has never paid her rent late.
“As a tenant in the house, Kat serves as a model for the other young women, both as a parent and as an independent individual,” said Southwell. “She speaks up for fairness and justice even when she is the lone, daring voice to an authority that is powerful and she does so with an amazing balance of passion and respect. Her communication skills awe me time and again.”
Giving voice to youth issues on a regional and state level, Rayno serves as a youth participant on the Vermont Coalition for Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs' Best Practices Committee and the Youth-in-Transition state-wide Youth Advisory Committee.
Rayno has now earned her high school diploma, obtained her drivers' license, and joined Youth Services as a Peer Outreach Worker where, according to Southwell, she has further strengthened her innate advocacy and leadership skills while serving as an important resource to her peers.
At the ceremony, Southwell spoke directly to Rayno, adding her congratulations and declaring, “Kat, you have come so far. I wish everyone in this room had the opportunity to know you and gain a piece of your incredible spirit.”
This Spirit of Youth award is named after the late William E. Mikell, a founding member of the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs, who was devoted to improving the lives of children, youth, and their families.
Youth Services programs are accessible to all, regardless of one's ability to pay. They include case management, Big Brothers Big Sisters, intensive family-based services, youth development programs, street outreach, transitional services, a family emergency response/runaway program, juvenile and adult court diversion, and juvenile restorative justice. To obtain more information or make a donation, call 802-257-0361 or visit www.youthservicesinc.org.