Building Resilience and Connection Against the Odds

Your Course Description

Your Competency Focus Area

Behavioral Intervention

Working with young people who have experienced trauma or instability can feel complex, especially when trust is hard to build and progress isn’t always visible. You may find yourself wondering how to connect, respond to challenging behavior, or stay steady in the work.
In this honest and powerful conversation, Joel Tennant, founder of the Against the Odds movement, shares his lived experience and what truly helped him feel seen and valued as a young person.
You’ll explore how to build trust through consistency, lead with curiosity instead of assumptions, understand behavior as communication, and walk alongside youth rather than trying to fix them. You’ll gain a renewed sense of purpose and meaningful ways to strengthen connections and support resilience in your work.

Your Learning Objectives

Learn how trust is built with young people through consistency, authenticity, and relationship-first approaches
Use curiosity and active listening to understand young people’s experiences without making assumptions
Recognize behavior as communication shaped by lived experience and ongoing systems
Support young people in building resilience by helping them develop internal strength and work toward who they want to become

Your Course Details

Completion Certificate
Youth Worker Track
This training will count as 1 CE hour for most boards. Please contact your board directly with questions on submitting. Course details for CE submissions provided.

Your Trainer

Joel Tennant is the founder of Against The Odds and delivers lived experience–led resilience and behavior training for professionals and young people working in complex environments. Joel grew up in the care system and experienced significant instability, including periods of homelessness and involvement with the justice system. After a turning point in his youth, he rebuilt his life through work, education, and leadership roles. Today, Joel uses his lived experience and professional training to support frontline staff and organizations working with care-experienced and at-risk young people. His work focuses on understanding behavior through experience, building resilience, strengthening boundaries, and supporting staff confidence and wellbeing. Joel’s approach is practical, trauma-informed, and grounded in real-world insight, helping teams engage more effectively with young people while maintaining professionalism and safeguarding standards.