Preventing substance use by educating, engaging, and empowering all parts of our multicultural community

Why prevention?

The science tells us that people who start using drugs before adulthood have worse physical, mental, and emotional health outcomes than their peers. That's why we're committed to giving youth and their parents the tools to make healthy choices now, so they can thrive into the future.


 



Our vision

is an Auburn where youth are resilient and empowered with the tools they need to make good decisions for their health and future.



 Our Programs

Project EX

Supporting positive change for high school students who vape.

Project EX is a school-based smoking and vaping cessation program for youth ages 14-19. It uses a conversational group-based format, including activities like yoga and games. Facilitators lead groups of 8-15 students to teach coping skills and explore the physiological and social consequences of substance use.

The 8-session curriculum teaches each student to regulate emotions, manage withdrawal symptoms, set goals, and enhance self-esteem, culminating in an attempt to quit with continued support from their facilitator and peers.

Project EX was developed by the University of Southern California's Institute for Prevention Research. Learn more about Project EX here.

Image via. UW Center for Communities that Care.

Guiding Good Choices

Empowering parents to promote healthy development and reduce risky behavior in the teen years. 

Delivered over 5 two-hour sessions, Guiding Good Choices prepares parents of youth ages 9-14 to host family meetings, set clear standards, and teach youth to regulate emotions and make good choices around drugs and alcohol. Participants report feeling more confident having tough conversations with their kids, and feeling more connected and supported by their fellow parents. Available regularly in both English and Spanish.

GGC is based on the University of Washington's research on the Social Development Strategy. Learn more about the curriculum here.

Image via. Healingofthecanoe.org.

Healing of the Canoe

Equipping youth to navigate their identity, relationships, and future through methods informed by the traditional values of Native cultures. 

It is delivered in Auburn as a week-long summer program available for students grades 6-12.

By using the Canoe Journey as a metaphor for the journey of life, Healing of the Canoe teaches students to set goals, solve problems, cope with emotions, resolve conflicts through communication, and give and receive support from their community. Units also discuss indigenous stereotypes in media, the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and suicide prevention and intervention. 

Youth get hands-on experience with traditional foods and medicines, canoe culture, wayfinding, language, and more with the help of local practitioners. Students leave the program with stronger bonds to their family, their heritage, and the land on which they live.

Healing of the Canoe was originally made by and for the Suquamish and Port Gamble S'Klallam peoples, and has been adapted for our local Native and Pacific Islander populations. Learn more about it here.

A colorful logo consisting of five arms holding each other in a circle, with the text "Peers Spreading Support and Awareness: Auburn High School" written in the center.

Logo for Auburn High School's PSA Prevention Club, designed collaboratively. Rendered digitally by Emily Helms.

Three prevention clubs students posing with a Washington Healthcare Authority official, holding an award

Pictured (from left to right): PSA members Ny'Saiah, JT, and Nicole, with Healthcare Authority Section Manager Sarah Mariani.

Prevention Clubs

Student-led, coalition-supported teams who bring prevention and mental health promotion to their campuses.

We partner with Peers Spreading Support & Awareness (PSA), a prevention club at Auburn High School which was started in 2023 when a group of ASB students saw the effects of substance use on campus and among peers, and wanted to do something about it.

After a year of promoting positive messages on campus culminating in a school-wide assembly, PSA presented their project at the Spring Youth Forum this last May and won second place, out of 40+ teams from all over Washington State!

More about Spring Youth Forum.

We also partner with the Get Outdoors Club, a prevention club at Rainier Middle School focused on outdoor recreation as a tool for coping with substance use and mental health-related challenges.

Questions?

You can learn more and get connected to what's happening in the coalition by reaching out to our coordinator below.