More About Youth to Youth
What is Youth to Youth?
History of Youth to Youth
What makes Youth to Youth unique?
The Four Elements of Youth to Youth
Youth to Youth Activities
Youth to Youth is a positive peer preventions program whose goal is to help youth
make and maintain the choice to be drug-free. Through various fun
activities, middle and high school youth are clearly shown the advantages
of a responsible, drug-free life.
Youth to Youth began as Youth to Youth International, which was founded by the
Columbus, Ohio, company CompDrug in 1982. Youth to Youth International has since
served as a model for hundreds of schools and community groups in thirty-five states
and thirteen countries. Youth to Youth was brought to the Rochester, New York,
area in 1986 by a small group of students from Rush-Henrietta High School who had
returned from a Youth to Youth International conference. The Rochester Area Youth
to Youth program became a part of Prevention Partners, Inc., in 1994 and has served
over three thousand youth in Central and Western New York.
(adapted from the Youth to Youth Staff Manual)
- Youth to Youth promotes a clear, no-use message for youth regarding alcohol,
tobacco, and other drugs which clarifies the vagueness of the "responsible-use"
message.
- Youth to Youth stresses the positive benefits of being drug-free rather than
focusing wholly on the negative consequences of drug use.
- Youth to Youth empowers teens to take on a leadership role and become part of
the solution. Youth organize events and facilitate meetings. Participation is not
limited to recognized leaders but rather fosters leadership in all.
- Youth to Youth brings together a diverse group of individuals who can bond
on their common commitment to a drug-free lifestyle while learning to respect
each other's differences.
- Youth to Youth fosters a strong youth-adult relationship, thereby bringing the
generation gap. Both youth and adults learn from one another and gain valuable
insight.
- Youth to Youth is based on the philosophy and research that prevention is less
costly -- emotionally, physically, and financially -- than treatment.
- Youth to Youth offers a strong support network of friends on which youth can
rely in both good times and bad, sharing memories and friendships that will last a
lifetime.
(from the Youth to Youth Staff Manual)
Comprehensive prevention programming must be able to reach and involve youth on
a variety of levels in a variety of ways. The four elements listed below are
essential for an effective, ongoing youth development program.
- Education -- This strategy increases awareness of the nature and
extent of the use, abuse, and addiction of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs as
well as their effects on individuals, families, and communities. It helps to
clarify and reinforce societal norms regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
Accurate, up-to-date information is available at the Prevention Partners Resource
Center.
- Personal Growth -- By actively participating in the Youth to Youth program,
teens can solidify their sense of self and begin to realize their potential for
leadership. They gain life skills such as self-esteem, interpersonal competence,
decision-making abilities, and goal-setting. Youth learn what the "drug-free
lifestyle" means to them, personally, and how to integrate it into their own lives.
- Environmental Change -- Youth, often labeled as tomorrow's leaders,
can become the leaders of today. They can apply the knowledge and skills they
have gained in Youth to Youth to influence decisions made at all levels of the
community. Youth can take a proactive role in dealing with the issues that affect
them the most.
- Fun Alternatives -- If you're going to get youth involved in anything,
you're going to have to make it fun! The trick is getting them to see that young
people can have fun without using alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs. Being involved
in the Youth to Youth program makes it clear to youth that drug-free is the only
way to be!
(adapted from the Youth to Youth Staff Manual)
- Conferences -- Youth to Youth conferences are usually a weekend long
(Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon) and are attended by hundreds of youth
who come together to celebrate their choice to be drug-free. To gain awareness
of drug-related issues, youth listen to nationally known speakers and attend
informative workshops. Throughout the weekend, participants meet in family groups,
which are discussion groups made up of youth from different schools and backgrounds
and are led by trained youth and adult facilitators. Here, they learn to share
their thoughts and feelings with others whom they have never met before and to
respect others' thoughts and feelings, building trust among the group and leading
to lasting friendships. School groups from the same community meet to share goals
for the year and to network with one another. Youth to Youth stresses the importance
of taking the energy and ideas from the weekend and applying them to one's own
community. Most importally, Youth to Youth conferences are filled with zany, silly,
drug-free fun.
- Lock-ins -- Less structured than conferences, a lock-in is basically an
overnight drug-free party. Making a statement about their choice to be drug-free,
youth "lock" themselves into a school or community center for the night and play
sports, swim, dance, watch movies, play games, and have a general good time without
using drugs.
- Other activities -- In addition to planning and attending Youth to Youth
conferences and lock-ins, Skaneateles High School Youth to Youth (SHS Y2Y) coordinates
other fun and informative activities during the school year. Each May, SHS Y2Y
sponsors the Nationwide Insurance Prom Promise, a program in which students sign
a pledge stating that they will not use drugs or alcohol on prom night, regardless
of whether or not they attend the prom. In past year, SHS Y2Y has also sponsored
White-Out Day, in which student volunteers are "whited out" to demonstrate the
impact of alcohol-related deaths.
In January 1999, SHS Y2Y held the Dragon's Den Coffeehouse during a school dance.
Coffee, soda, and desserts were sold, and students performed music or read poetry
in an intimate coffeehouse setting. SHS Y2Y has also sponsored dances of its own
to raise money for activities. After final exams conclude each June, SHS Y2Y takes a
day-long trip to the Six Flags Darien Lake amusement park near Buffalo, New York,
to celebrate the accomplishments of the previous drug-free year.
For even more information about Youth to Youth, contact us.
