About Northstar Advocates

Work With Us

Empowering Lives & Building Futures.

Our Mission

Preventing and ending homelessness by supporting young people, strengthening families and communities, and holding the systems designed to serve them accountable.

Our Vision

All young people facing homelessness or exiting state systems have the support and resources they need to create a life that is healthy, loving, and achieves their NorthStar.

Our philosophy

UNCONDITIONAL CARE: All children and young people deserve a safe, warm, nurturing environment to grow, learn, and thrive. Children and young people do best when they are raised by healthy families and communities. Families and communities do best when they are trusted, supported, and free of bias and discrimination. Society does best when young people, families and communities have the resources, policies, and opportunities they need to be strong, healthy, and lead their own lives. We want young people and families to not just thrive, but to survive!

Work With Us

Youth & Young Adult Consultants | Ages 16–30

Your experience matters. Your voice can create change.

At NorthStar Advocates, we believe young people and young adults with lived experience are essential partners in creating meaningful systems change.

We work alongside youth and young adults ages 16–30 who have firsthand experience navigating systems of care. Through paid consulting opportunities, young people help inform policies, improve services, and advocate for systems that better meet the needs of those they are designed to serve.

Our goal is to help create a more culturally and developmentally appropriate behavioral health system that responds to the unique needs of youth and young adults, including those experiencing or at risk of unaccompanied homelessness.

What Do Consultants Do?

Our consultants bring their lived experiences, perspectives, and expertise to a variety of projects and advocacy opportunities, including:

  • Presentations & Public Speaking: Share lived experiences and recommendations at conferences, summits, trainings, and community events.
  • Advisory Meetings: Participate in discussions that inform programs, policies, and system improvements.
  • Bridge Coalition: Help plan, facilitate, and participate in Bridge Coalition meetings focused on improving behavioral health services, housing stability, and transitions of care.
  • Legislative Advocacy: Support legislative activities, provide feedback on proposed policies, and help educate decision-makers about the needs of young people.
  • Coalitions & Community Partnerships: Represent youth and young adult perspectives in regional and statewide coalitions, workgroups, and collaborative initiatives.
  • Program & Systems Development: Provide feedback and recommendations to help organizations and agencies develop more effective, accessible, and responsive services.

Who Can Participate?

We welcome youth and young adults ages 16–30 who have lived experience with one or more of the following systems of care:

  • Behavioral Health: Mental health and/or substance use disorder treatment and recovery services
  • Child Welfare: Foster care, kinship care, or other child welfare services
  • Juvenile Justice: Juvenile courts, detention, probation, or related services
  • Adult Legal System: Courts, incarceration, community supervision, or reentry services
  • Housing & Homelessness Services: Shelters, transitional housing, homelessness response programs, or experiences of housing instability
  • Other Systems of Care: Additional public systems or services that support youth, young adults, and families

No previous consulting, advocacy, or public speaking experience is required. We value your lived experience and your interest in helping improve systems for other young people.

Compensation

Youth & Young Adult Consultants are compensated at $75 per hour for approved consulting activities.

Opportunities vary based on current projects, organizational needs, and individual interests and availability.

Help Shape the Future

We believe the people most impacted by systems of care should have a meaningful role in shaping them.

By working together, we can strengthen services, elevate youth and young adult voices, and build a more responsive, equitable, culturally and developmentally appropriate behavioral health system that supports every young person in finding stability, connection, and their next best place.

Interested in working with NorthStar Advocates?

We invite eligible youth and young adults to fill out the application and connect with us to learn more about upcoming paid consulting opportunities.