MYAA

2016 Youth Ambassadors Attend First Training

The Youth Ambassador Program is designed to empower the youth of today to be the substance abuse prevention leaders of tomorrow. Through interactive exercises, comprehensive trainings, and targeted focus on community needs, the Youth Ambassadors develop materials and support regional centers and school programs to prevent substance abuse.

Ambassadors represent the following schools:

Calvary Lutheran High School (Jefferson City)
Kennett High School
Linn High School
Morgan County R-I (Stover)
Morgan County R-II (Versailles)

The Youth Ambassadors meet once a month to discuss current problems in their areas and help achieve their mission to end substance abuse in their communities and Missouri. Regular trainings and activities are scheduled with the discussions to enhance participation and understanding of subject matter.

The Youth Ambassadors met for their first training on January 7, 2016. This dedicated group of six completed six exercises:

Cause & Effect: Ambassadors matched causes of substance abuse to related effects
Elevator Speeches: Ambassadors learned how to best spend their thirty seconds in an elevator to explain to someone what they do as an Ambassador
Personal Mission Statements: each Ambassador learned that reviewing goals regularly is important in accomplishing them
Bridge to Support: using everyday items, Ambassadors built a ‘bridge to support’ before learning how a combination of treatment techniques is most successful

Cause & Effect, Revisited: Ambassadors determined the best treatment option for varying types of substance abuse
Guess Who: Ambassadors reviewed real stories of substance abuse and pinpointed where prevention programs could have intervened

ACT Missouri welcomes new Youth Ambassador Coordinator

Chris Dzurick has been involved with the Missouri Youth Adult Alliance (MYAA) and ACT Missouri since his sophomore year of high school, when he reached out to the organization to help serve a need at his local school. He worked with the organization, attending Speak Hard as a workshop presenter and sharing resources with his school and community. Chris continued his substance abuse prevention work when he joined the staff of the Boys & Girls Club of Cape Girardeau, working with their SMARTMoves and MethSMART drug prevention curriculum. Chris is currently employed with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as the State Adviser for Missouri Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda. His passion for working with the future leaders is ingrained in his soul, and he hopes to make a difference in the outlook on America’s future.

Chris will lead a team of high school students in their efforts to promote substance abuse prevention within their schools, communities, and Missouri. He will provide leadership training, key data facts, and guidance at several events, including Prevention Day at the Missouri Capitol and the Speak Hard Youth Rally.

Coalition Spotlight: 417Squad

The Community Partnership of the Ozarks has helped organize a group of Springfield high school students called 417SQUAD (Students Questioning Using and Abusing Drugs) who want to make a difference in their world.

This group formed as a prevention coalition in the 2013-2014 school year and they meet monthly as a team of 12-15 students, discussing issues that their peers face in an attempt to provide solutions in various ways, such as advocating for positive alternative activities and sharing information pertinent to their age group.

In addition to providing prevention strategies to their peers, 417SQUAD provides representation on the Community Partnership’s Fighting Back Coalition, which consists of leadership from all of the Greene County prevention coalitions. They provide a valuable voice in providing a youth’s perspective on prevention strategies relevant to their peers. They are also able to share ideas and receive support from the community for their efforts.

During this school year, the 417SQUAD learned that 1 in 3 teens experience dating abuse, including physical, emotional, verbal or sexual abuse/manipulation, and that 67% of teens never tell anyone about the abuse. The team became passionate about sharing this information because they felt that if more people realized how prevalent the issue was, they could help make it less taboo to discuss the topic and/or seek help.

Taking action, they partnered with the Violence Free Families Coalition (VFF) to help promote an awareness campaign about this issue. VFF had already placed ads to educate teens on the topic at the Battlefield Mall, a local hotspot for adolescents to hang out with friends.

To add to the campaign, the teens scripted, filmed, and edited a public service announcement (PSA) depicting a scene of teen dating abuse and offering resources for help, which will air on school TVs and various websites. They also applied for and received grant funding to purchase movie theater ads, which will air during this summer’s major blockbuster movies that teens will most likely go to see. To spark conversation, the teens also developed a hashtag (#MakeItStop417) to use on social media to spread awareness about the campaign website (makeitstop417.org).

Prior to this teen dating abuse campaign, a member of the 417SQUAD was featured in a suicide prevention PSA campaign throughout Springfield and the surrounding area. 417SQUAD members also helped develop the campaign and its message, which mainly targeted youth and urged individuals to talk to someone they know who may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, as this has shown to reduce the likelihood of a suicide attempt. There have been many people impacted by this campaign and at least one life saved when a local teen, after seeing the PSA, talked to a friend who was thinking about suicide.

To further educate themselves, 417SQUAD traveled to Jefferson City in March to attend the ACT Missouri Speak Hard conference. This conference is intended solely for youth from across the state to gather and learn about drug and violence prevention strategies as well as to network with their peers in Missouri. Six high school students from Springfield attended the conference and reported that they learned a great deal of information and are excited to implement new ideas here in Springfield!

417SQUAD will continue to meet throughout the summer to develop more prevention strategies for next year!

April’s #SubstanceFreeSaturday

It’s time for this month’s #SubstanceFreeSaturday! Each month we try to give you ideas on what to do to celebrate, but we would also love to hear your ideas! Let us know on Facebook, or email us at info@actmissouri.org.

Spring is in full swing, so now is the perfect time to get outdoors and do something fun with your friends. Go for a bike ride, take a walk, or have a picnic in the park. What is your favorite outdoors activity?

Substance-Free Prom Season

Belton Cares’ After Prom Party is an event held the evening of prom from midnight to 4 -5 am at a local gathering spot, Aaron’s Family Fun Center. The goal of the After Prom Party is to offer an alternative place to go, so teens can gather and enjoy the evening while staying safe and sober. Juniors and seniors, along with their dates, are welcome to attend. The event provides plenty of entertainment with music and a dance area, snacks and soft drinks, goody bags, and lots of other fun activities such as sand volleyball and miniature golf!

Belton Cares has been providing this event for almost 15 years. Each year, approximately 200 juniors and seniors attend out of 995 students. The school provides support by promoting the event in the school announcements and through other high school media, as well as selling tickets in the cafeteria. The after-prom party has also gained community support. Community businesses, civic groups and parents donate prizes, cash and time. The event space costs $2,500 and event prizes are around $1,000. These costs are paid by donations and fundraisers.

Students also have a part to play in how their prom evening will turn out. SADD offers some great safety tips to help keep the night fun and healthy:

Know your agenda and provide the information to your parents.

Plan ahead what you will say or do if someone offers you alcohol or another illegal drug. Phrases such as “No, thanks,” “Are you kidding? I want to remember this night!” or “Actually, I’d rather have a soda. Do you have one?” often work, even if you think they won’t.

Know your date before you go. If your date is someone you do not know well, spend a little time together in advance. Take a walk at a park or go for an ice cream before the big night. You and your parents will feel better about your staying out late with someone you know.

Find out what your curfew is, and tell your date and/or your friends before prom night.

Discuss with your parents any after-curfew possibilities (the party at your friend’s house or early morning breakfast at your place).

Ask a trusted adult to be near a phone and available on prom night in case you need to call.

If you have cell phone, make sure it is fully charged, or carry a phone card or enough change to make several phone calls from a pay phone if necessary.

For more information from SADD about planning a safe prom, check out: http://www.sadd.org/promplan.htm

Caffeine and Alcohol: A Dangerous Combination

In the fight against underage drinking, adding caffeine to the mix only complicates the matter even further.

On February 20^th Anita Jurkowski, PH.D., as a representative of MYAA and Compass Prevention, talked with 312 seventh grade students of Smith-Cotton Jr. High School in Sedalia about Alcohol and Other Drugs of Abuse. Over six class periods the dangers of underage drinking of alcohol, underage drinking of caffeinated alcohol, and underage vaping of alcohol were discussed.

Although few students were aware of vaping alcohol, they were well aware of caffeinated alcoholic drinks. A high percentage of Sedalia students reported the habit of “slamming” caffeinated energy drinks, which currently are legal to underage consumers. In fact, caffeinated energy drinks and caffeinated alcoholic drinks are primarily marketed to teenagers and young adults, respectively¹. The jump from caffeinated energy drinks to caffeinated alcoholic drinks is easy to follow, especially since the cans for both are extremely similar.

Research is demonstrating that drinking caffeine in high amounts quickly primes the brain toward future binge drinking of alcohol². Greater consumption of caffeinated energy drinks in teens and pre-teens is linked to earlier initiation of alcohol drinking, to greater amounts of alcohol drinking, and to a higher propensity toward sensation seeking, risky behavior, and future alcoholism³.

With the overconsumption of caffeinated energy drinks in teens and the aggressive targeted advertising toward the young of caffeinated energy and caffeinated alcoholic drinks, combined with the unawareness on the part of teens and parents alike to the association between caffeinated energy drink consumption and future alcohol, nicotine, and other substance dependence it is not a far stretch to predict an increase in underage drinking as a direct result of caffeinated energy drink use, abuse and addiction. It behooves teens, parents, and society to learn more about the dangerous combination of caffeine and alcohol.

Foot Notes

Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-marketing-strategy-this-energy-drink-used-to-take-on-red-bull-and-become-a-billion-dollar-brand-2012-2
GP, 11/19/2010: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.ccis.edu/chc/detail?sid=e56cb98e-9158-479e-88f9-d54ca5e1e11c%40sessionmgr111&vid=4&hid=109&bdata=JnNpdGU9Y2hjLWxpdmU%3d#db=cmh&AN=67291691
Eur J Pediatr (2013) 172:1335–1340: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.ccis.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=7aab0d87-af91-4cd3-b6b1-37160d6642e5%40sessionmgr114&vid=11&hid=119
Caffeinated Energy Drinks: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/canada/ban-energy-drink-sales-to-minors-say-health-officials-37573.html
Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks: http://www.freemanrecoverycenter.com/caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/]]]

Prevention Day 2015

Kara Bernskoetter, MYAA Youth Ambassador and member of the MYAA Marketing Committee, provides us with a first-hand account of her experience at this year’s Prevention Day at the Capitol.

Prevention Day was held at the capitol on January 28^th. The day began with us, the MYAA Youth Ambassadors, providing breakfast pastries to the General Assembly and their staff along with the visitors. This was a great opportunity to spread the word about MYAA and what we are and do. There was a display set up of photo voice posters created by us Youth Ambassadors. Photo voice is a way to communicate the message of prevention through pictures and captions. I visited my state senator, Mike Kehoe, and put my advocacy training into action. Talking to your legislator is a great way to prove that the youth have a strong voice and that we truly do care about the decisions made in our communities.

MYAA Youth Ambassador Profiles: Tali, Raine, and Madeline

MYAA’s Youth Ambassadors are the main catalyst’s for the prevention in underage drinking MYAA continually strives to achieve. MYAA Ambassadors are hardworking, motivated students, who dedicate their time and their commitment to reaching out to their peers, their friends and others about the dangers of underage drinking and the benefits of abstaining. Youth Ambassadors are role models to younger students and enjoy the confidence of believing in the fun and the empowerment of healthy choices and how important it is to support yourself.

If you know of a young person who would be great for the Youth Ambassador Program, or you are a young person who wants to get involved, the applications are open now, and close on May 4, 2015. Check out the Youth Ambassador website (http://www.actmissouri.org/youth-ambassadors/) for more information and to access the application when it becomes available.

Here are three of MYAA’s Youth Ambassadors and a little information about them.

Krista S., Kara, Raine, Krista O., and Tali

Tali Azar

Parkway Central High School, Chesterfield

Reason why I am a youth ambassador: To be able to make a difference and better my community.
Favorite subject in school: Ceramics because it relaxes me and allows me to be creative
Favorite thing to do outside of school: I like to hang out with friends and family and get involved with my community.
What we hope to do after high school: Go to college after high school and major in a career that involves helping others.

Raine Ryerson

Morgan County R-II High School, Versailles

Reason why I am a youth ambassador: I love to serve others and being an ambassador helps me to give back to my community while also allowing me to be a positive role model for young adults.
Favorite subject in school: Psychology. I love learning about how people’s minds function and how their thoughts can predict their actions.
Favorite thing to do outside of school: I love to run long distance. I train all Winter for track season in the Spring and I also run 5k races competitively.
What we hope to do after high school: I hope to either attend the United States Military Academy at West Point and major in Psychology, or attend the University of Missouri-St. Louis through an Army ROTC scholarship and major in Criminology.

Madeline Partridge

Eldon High School, Eldon

Reason why I am a youth ambassador: To get the word out to my community that underage drinking and drug use needs to stop. I believe that the best way to stop underage drinking and underage drug use is if the information comes from the peers of the teenagers who are making these choices.
Favorite subject in school: Any and all kinds of science. I find science so intriguing because every day we are finding new ways to save lives or a new species that we have never known before. Science is a way to figure out the ever-changing world around us and to better understand what we already know.
Favorite thing to do outside of school: I love to play basketball! I spend most of my weekends and every day after school practicing with my team to get better.
What we hope to do after high school: I am planning to go to college. Right now I am looking to get a degree in health sciences, but not 100% sure what I want to do yet.

MYAA Project Director Chelsea, Kara, Madeline, Raine, and Krista S.

Each quarter we will be highlighting some of our Missouri Youth Adult Alliance Youth Ambassadors. To learn more about the Youth Ambassador Program or MYAA, visit our website.

March’s #SubstanceFreeSaturday

With all the excitement from the 2015 #SpeakHard Youth Conference, we almost forgot about this month’s #SubstanceFreeSaturday! Luckily, the dates are all printed on our #RedRibbonWeek calendar!

This month is a great time to get friends together and watch some March Madness basketball! Is your team still in the tournament?

Source

Even if you don’t like basketball, you can still get a group of friends together and do something fun and #SubstanceFree! Make some yummy snacks, watch a movie, or play a game. Saturdays are a great time to hang out with your friends without the stress of homework!

Speak Hard 2015 Update

Good morning!

We are so excited that it is almost time for Speak Hard 2015! Almost a year of planning goes into this event, so it is always great for us to see how much fun the youth have, and how much they learn throughout the day. In order to secure a location and a keynote speaker for Speak Hard, we start planning months in advance. Unfortunately, this means that we select the date for Speak Hard before the legislative calendar has been set. For the past eleven years, Speak Hard has been during the same week and not conflicted with the legislature’s Spring Break. This year, we were not that lucky and the legislature’s Spring Break has been moved and will take place during Speak Hard. While I know that some groups look forward to legislative visits as a bonus to Speak Hard, there is still so much to look forward to at this year’s conference!

This year’s keynote, M&P Presentations, is an awesome team that brings high energy and will get the prevention inspiration started early in the day. We’ve also changed the schedule so that every participant will see the keynote and an additional four sessions. That is two additional sessions from last year! There is a ton of fun and education planned for the 11^th Annual Speak Hard Youth Conference. Youth will have the opportunity to gain knowledge that they can utilize when advocating in their local communities.

While most representatives will not be in Jefferson City on the date of Speak Hard, there are numerous ways to reach out to them. We encourage you to call, email, or write a letter to your representative. We can still deliver the message that prevention is important and advocate for our communities even if our representatives are not in Jefferson City.

Thank you for your flexibility! We hope to see you all at the 11^th Annual Speak Hard Youth Conference so that we can learn together and teach youth the importance of Substance Abuse Prevention!

For more information, and to register, visit the Speak Hard page.

Sincerely,

Chelsea Billeck
MYAA Project Director

Taking ACTion to Build a Healthy Missouri