Summer
is a time for youngsters to participate in all sorts of summer camps, go
on vacations, hang out with friends, talk on the phone for extra long
hours, play video games, hang out at the mall, watch fun movies, roller
skate, boggie board on the beach, or attend summer school.
However, the summer months can also be a critical time for youth.
According to research provided by the Partnership for a Drug Free America
(PDFA), the summer months are a time when youth begin experimenting with
drugs because they have more free time that is unsupervised.
Recently,
six
members of the San Antonio Fighting Back, Inc. (SAFB) PRIDE Youth Academy participated in a conference to learn how to prevent and reduce
youth substance abuse. SAFB took two carloads of San Antonio youth to the
Texas Teen Tobacco Summit in Houston, TX on July 25-28.
The
conference focused on advocacy and youth-adult partnerships. Youth
participated in age appropriate sessions to learn how tobacco smoke can
have a lethal effect for smoker's and non-smokers alike; how the tobacco
industry markets its products; how to effectively communicate to change;
and many other topics.
All the while adults were participating in separate sessions on topics including Global Tobacco Prevention; Dentist and Hygienists Roles in Tobacco Prevention & Cessation; How to Effectively Engage Youth in Your Program or Organization; and other sessions such as Applying Risk & Protective Factor Research. Both younth and adults were also provided with effective strategies on how to reduce cigarette smoking in their respective areas.
"Since the conference, we are working with our PRIDE Youth Academy members to create small changes in our community to become tobacco free", said Melissa Bridges, Youth Academy Coordinator. "Some of our youth who attended the conference expressed an interest in approaching local hotels to make all rooms smoke free."
Way to go PRIDE Youth Academy members!
If you are interested in becoming a part of the San Antonio Fighting Back, Inc. PRIDE Youth Academy or assisting in the "Smoke-Free Hotel Campaign", please contact Darrell Boyce, East Weed & Seed Coordinator at (210) 271-7232 or via e-mail at dboyce@safb.org.