Frank Smith, Assistant Director
(916) 557-1166 or fsmith@mhac.org

Kenn Logan and Marisela Chavez are our new Co-Coordinators for the Transition Age Youth Empowerment Project. Following are brief summaries of their backgrounds.

Kenn Logan, Co-Coordinator for MHAC TAY Project
(916) 557-1167 or klogan@mhac.org

My name is Kenn Logan; I am fully independent and only 20 years young. I work full time, I have my own car, and live every day to make myself better.
           
Currently, I am a youth advocate for the Mental Health Association-Sacramento Chapter and also serve as Co-coordinator for MHAC TAY Project. I have been a youth advocate for 3 years. I am very passionate about what I do. I take great pride in knowing that in some way, shape or form I have made an impact in some one’s life. I got into being a youth advocate, because of my past.
           
When I was younger I was diagnosed as ADD. My parents, not knowing what ADD was, would punish me for messing up in school. From the age of 5 until I was 12, my dad abused me. Through the abuse and not being taught how to appropriately express my feelings, I developed a severe anger management issue.
           
From 12-17, I went through intense counseling, went off and on different medications, and even attended a residential treatment facility. I did good for a reasonable amount of time, until two months after my 19th birthday, I had a severe emotional and mental breakdown.
           
I use my experience to effectively do my job. Being young and not having anyone to talk to can be very stressful on youth and lead to more problems. That is why I do my job with such passion.

Marisela Chavez, Co-Coordinator for MHAC TAY Project
(916) 557-1167 or mchavez@mhac.org

I graduated from High School at 17 years old and was as innocent as can be.  I was the first in my family to ever complete any kind of schooling.  During my last year in HS I was working night shifts and on top had all the normal duties a senior student would have along with the drama it came with.  I no longer wanted to work for the fast food place I was at.  The harassment became terrible and my father complained he would end up killing one of those punks.  I ran out of that job on a working night, I can never forget. I heard that the Mental Health Association in Sacramento was hiring Spanish speaking personnel.  I wasn’t sure if I was qualified to work for such an organization being so young and with no experience at all.  During the interview I will never forget how pleased the interviewers were.  I started working for OASIS, a SAMHSA funded project and from than on my life changed like never before. I worked for the OASIS project until it ended. After working so hard, attending events meeting people and the organizations they worked for including helping their accountant at the time the Mental Health Association of Sacramento County decided to hire me on as a full-time bookkeeper/admin assistant.  I currently work as an accountant and for Transition Age Youth.  I am so proud of the person I have become, being 19 years old, come through so many personal struggles that I do not want to go into completely here. Having said that I feel so content with my life thus far.  I do regret events I have gone through, I wish I hadn’t. With this in mind I am feeling more comfortable disclosing  my life events to someone that like myself would understand. Lastly, I am expecting a child which I am extremely excited about and I am engaged to the love of my life.  And on top of everything I am enrolled in college as a Criminal Justice student. In two years I hope I will look back and say I regret nothing, not the violence I was put through, harassment, beatings, drugs, and the wrong crowd. But those events have made me a better person and I wish to never look back.  Hopefully society soon will no longer judge me by my failures but my successes.