Youth 2 Youth Adult Advisor Training 2017

What is Youth 2 Youth? Youth 2 Youth (Y2Y) consists of a group of middle and high school students that work on drug and alcohol prevention. Although Youth to Youth members do a lot of fun stuff, like wall climbing, hikes, dances, movies, swimming, skating and bowling, the primary function of Y2Y is to be a youth empowerment program where students have the opportunity to take an active role in drug-prevention initiatives.

Model The evidence based model has three critical core parts: Knowledge Skills Action

Knowledge Students are provided with and research the depth of knowledge and background information needed to develop an understanding of a problem. This, in turn, provides the INSPIRATION to ACT!

Skills Youth are provided with the skills needed to take action and cause change. These include such things as media and speaking skills. This, in turn, gives students the SKILLS or ability to ACT!

Action Youth are provided the opportunity to use the knowledge and skills they have learned in the real world. They are given the chance to present to a classroom…

Awareness & Education 5th graders presenting Samantha Skunk

Action hold a press conference…

Education & Awareness Press release

Action conduct a demonstration…

Awareness & Education Organized Demonstration

Action produce videos and radio PSAs…

Awareness & Education Radio PSA

Action create and participate in other campaigns to raise awareness (ie: Retail Responsibility, Sticker Shock) …

Awareness Retail Responsibility Campaign & Sticker Shock

Action and meet with law makers to encourage legislative policy change.

Legislative Policy Change

Evidence Based The program has been reviewed and designated as an evidence based program with short, intermediate and long term outcomes.

Short-term Outcomes Knowledge of consequences of use Knowledge of industry practices Knowledge of legislative process Presentation skills Media literacy Media development skills Engaging with pro-social peers

Intermediate Outcomes Perceived risk of harming Self-efficacy (beliefs and behaviors) Engagement of pro-social activities

Long-term Outcomes Reduced 30 day use of alcohol and marijuana and abuse of prescription drugs by program participants Delayed age of onset of use of alcohol and marijuana and abuse of prescription drugs by program participants

The Value in the Program Overall In most communities, youth are a vast untapped resource in the effort to prevent the harm from underage drinking and other issues. Youth empowerment promises impacts on two levels: The impact on the community that a group of youth might have as they participate in trying to reduce the harm of problems like underage drinking or tobacco use. The impact on the youth themselves as they attempt to impact their environment. Youth participating in these programs generally become highly informed, develop leadership and life skills and become very committed to “practicing what they preach”.

The Value in the Program Samantha Skunk When being presented by a youth advocacy or youth leadership group, the Samantha Skunk presentation has two levels of impact. The audience viewing the presentation gets a valuable message on health. The youth teaching the presentation get a great introduction to presenting to an audience and public speaking in a less-threatening environment (Youth advocates are trained to present the story very soon after joining the program. Because the audience is younger, inexperienced presenters are not as nervous. And because the text of the script is printed in large typeface on large plastic boards – positioned behind the audience – the student doesn’t have the pressure of needing to memorize lines. The presenter can concentrate on vocal delivery, body language, and the actual delivery of the presentation.)

What does the program cost? $700 - Toolkit (includes everything you need to start a new youth group, including over 20 modules and flash drive) $2000 – Complete Samantha Skunk Presentation Kit (includes full costumes for Magenta Skunk, Green Skunk & Solomon the Parrot, 3 separate presentation story sets that include 2′ x 3′ presentation boards in large print, and travel cases for all products. $0 – volunteer advisors to lead the program TOTAL: $2700 one time fee!