Prevention Education

Prevention Education

Prevention programming is a service that provides youth and adults with education, skill building, leadership opportunities, and alternative activities to encourage positive behavior and to prevent the use of drugs and the abuse of alcohol. Youth are the main target of prevention programming, but education is available for all age ranges. We provide community awareness campaigns, school based programs (see descriptions below), youth leadership opportunities (see description below), and drug free alternative activities for youth of all ages.

Program Objective:

• Teach youth the necessary skills to resist social (peer) pressure to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

• Increase the utility of identified protective factors within the community.

• Increase/maintain ATOD abstinence among youth.

• Increase community knowledge of the consequences of substance/alcohol use, abuse, and addiction.

• Help youth to develop greater self-efficacy

Target Population: Prevention services are available to all ages.

School-Based Education Programs:

How to Be a Better You- This collaborative effort between Pathways, Project Respect and the Educational Service Center,
targets a universal population of youth in the 7th or 8th grade. The first one-hour piece presented by Pathways helps youth understand the impact and consequences of underage drinking. Pathways also presents a second one-hour piece that helps youth recognize the signs/symptoms of depression and suicide.

Friends- This Character Building program, for the universal population of 1st-6th grades, helps youth understand esteem, peer
pressure, teambuilding, feelings, friendship, cultural competence, familial differences, and anger in its curriculum.

Girl’s Circle- This girls-only group uses discussions and activities to strengthen peer relationships, build self-esteem, increase communication, and encourage creativity among girls in grades 4-9. This program has increased in girls served the past several years.

Youth Leadership Training Opportunities:

P.A.R.T.Y. (Putnam Adolescent Response Team for Youth) – a youth led group whose mission is to use positive peer pressure to encourage positive choices and to prevent underage use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Meeting weekly and having over 30 active members, P.A.R.T.Y. is composed of high school students from different schools in the county, and works to empower youth, create alternative activities, educate and create public awareness, and create a network for making positive choices.

J.E.D.I. (Junior Educational Development Institute)– a youth led conference to help build skills in middle school students. This retreat, which is planned and implemented by P.A.R.T.Y., introduces the students to workshops, motivational speakers, small group process, problem solving, and teambuilding. J.E.D.I.-like programs are also offered to elementary students as “Jumping Into Jedi” and High School students can attend the “Putnam County High School Leadership Day”, a one day leadership training in the county.

Ohio Teen Institute & Other Leadership Conferences- Putnam County High School Students are encouraged to attend youth conferences throughout the state for the chance to network, and bring skills and ideas back to the community.