Substance Abuse Prevention & Services

This program aims to prevent substance abuse and its related consequences by empowering community, families and individuals to adopt healthy behaviors.

Activities

We partner with community-based organizations, businesses, parents, and lay citizens to:

• Access community conditions and norms that contribute to onset of alcohol and drug abuse.
• Work collaboratively identifying the best strategies to reduce substance abuse.
• Partner in implementation and evaluation.
• Provide prevention information to individuals and organizations.
• Engage the community, both youth and adults, in substance abuse prevention efforts.

Friday Night Live (FNL)

FNL programs build partnerships for positive and healthy youth development, which engage youth as active leaders and resources in their communities while building skills in a fun and safe environment.

Developmental Assets

• Developmental Assets are the building blocks for healthy development that help youth grow up healthy, caring and responsible. Search Institute has identified 40 assets that strengthen youth - these assets have tremendous power to protect young people from harmful choices and encourage healthy ones.
• The 40 assets are not revolutionary or complicated and they apply to all kids, not just children at risk.
• They’re also powerful. Research shows that the more assets young people have, no matter what their background or socioeconomic level, the more likely they’ll be self-confident and do well in school; the less likely they’ll engage in dangerous or detrimental behavior.

Everyone Can Build Assets, Take a Second & Make a Difference

• Greet the kids in your neighborhood by name.
• Smile at teenagers without expecting it to be returned.
• Ask youth for their opinions; include youth voices in family and community decisions.
• Recognize a child’s positive qualities – let the child know you notice.
• Be aware of how powerful a role model you are (children do what you do, not what you say).