Partnerships Bring Drug & Alcohol Education to Weld County Youth
In 2023, Turning Point received grant funding from The Weld Trust, supporting no-cost preventative services to Weld County Youth. Through this partnership, we partnered with Eaton Library to provide four Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Education groups in November and December 2023. Fifty youth participated and benefited from this combined effort. Eaton Library enjoyed our programming so much that they invited us back for more programs in 2024.
The topics for these four programs include: 'The Masks We Wear,' 'Vaping,' 'Playlist of My Life’ and 'Two Biggest Supports,' and 'The Effects of Alcohol.' We did different age-appropriate activities based on the group, for example, doing playlist of my life with teens and having young children color drawings of their supports.
Angie, a Library Associate with Eaton Library, shares more about the experience. "The kids were super engaged, and the presenters were good. The timing was great. Not too long for the kids. And, the presenters had a lot of positive things to say about the kids." Angie shares that, as a library, they agree these programs are great for the community. They especially enjoyed the presentation with the masks, which was super engaging for teens. "But I also liked that there were different themes each time. The presenters really engaged our teens, and I feel like they walked away with some knowledge about what they were discussing."
Wendy Lee, Clinical Director for Turning Point, shares, "Attending and facilitating groups at the Eaton Library has been the highlight of my week. The adolescents were engaged and interested in what we had to share. They asked a lot of questions that were thought-provoking and vulnerable. In one of our groups, we had a young woman create an incredible mask that you would think an adult would design. She was so proud of her abilities, and it showed when her parents picked her up, and she ran over to show them. All in all, it has been beneficial for our staff to do outreach and work with a different age group that may be different than the population they work with in their day-to-day job."
The content for presentations on the 'Effects of Alcohol' and the 'Dangers of Vaping' helped educate participants on the dangers and side effects of alcohol and vaping, hoping that education can help prevent future habits and risk of damage to the body and life. For the 'Playlist of my life' and 'Two biggest supports' presentations, the older kids were asked to create a playlist of songs that were impactful to them, and the younger kids were asked to draw themselves and two people who helped them. For the 'Masks We Wear' group, participants were given blank masks, which they then took home with them. They decorated both the inside and the outside to represent 'What is on the inside vs. outside?', Noting that we often show others a different side of ourselves. The outside of the mask is what we show to others, and the inside is what only 'I' see. All our presenters are trained in substance use treatment services, and are the same staff providing clinical services through our DUI/DWAI program and Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program.
Partnership to End Addiction shares statistics that best capture the value of providing preventative education to youth. (drugfree.org)
"American culture, specifically the media's glamorization of smoking, drinking and other drug use, normalizes teen substance use and negatively impacts teens' health worldwide. Further, teen substance use and addiction is the largest, most expensive preventable public health problem in America today, costing at least $468 billion per year. Additional key findings include the following:
75% of high school students have tried addictive substances such as nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine; 46% currently use addictive substances; and 12% meet the clinical criteria for addiction.
90% of Americans who meet the clinical criteria for addiction started using substances before the age of 18.
1 in 4 Americans who began using substances before age 18 have addiction, compared to 1 in 25 who began at age 21 or older."
Thanks to partnerships with organizations like The Weld Trust and Eaton Library, we are helping to turn lives around. Youth are faced with many difficult situations and decisions, and we hope to provide them with the tools for making good choices regarding mental health and substance use.
