Smooth Feather Youth took the grand stage last week as the keynote presenter for the Maine Judicial Branch’s Child Welfare conference! Three hundred district court judges, attorneys, guardians ad litem and DHHS case workers all watched our film “AS WE ARE”. The film touches upon the theme of this year's conference: lived experience with the child welfare system and substance use disorder. We had a panel following the screening which consisted of four youth who made the film and three community members who are in recovery themselves. Nicole Locke, who is the mother of Eli Murray who stars in “AS WE ARE”, gave a speech about her own recovery journey which got a standing ovation from everyone in the room. We’re so incredibly honored to share the message of empathy and compassion that “AS WE ARE” represents, and to do it with this specific audience was remarkable.
