Youth Conference in Massachusetts Teaches Problem-Solving and Sober Activities

Earlier this month, the fifth annual You Lead Youth Conference was held in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and helped middle-schoolers learn leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making skills in the hopes that they will help keep kids drug free (Solomon, 2017). 

The event was held at Greenfield Community College and over 120 students from thirteen middle schools attended. Workshops, performances, activities were organized partially by the office of Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, who said, “It’s never too early to give good messages to kids” (Kim, 2017). Middle-schoolers at the events learned alternatives to drug use, like participating in sports, theater, and music. Teachers were also encouraged to get involved by attending workshops to “be better equipped to help lead against drug use in their schools” (Solomon, 2017). 

Massachusetts saw over 1,500 opioid-related deaths in 2016, most of which involved fentanyl, a synthetic drug that is fifty to one hundred times stronger than heroin (Kim, 2017). “Especially in our town there’s a lot of heroin usage,” said a seventh grader attending the conference (Kim, 2017). 

Kim, V. (2017). Youth conference teaches students sober activities, leadership skills. Retrieved from https://www.thefix.com/youth-conference-teaches-students-sober-activities-leadership-skills

Solomon, J. (2017). Middle-schoolers learn to take lead on sober activities. Daily Hampshire Gazette. Retrieved from http://www.gazettenet.com/Middle-school-students-learn-how-to-support-a-drug-free-culture-8987861