The Youth Connection Substance Abuse Prevention Program

The Youth Connection's Substance Abuse Prevention Program is a FREE, highly-interactive skills-based program designed to promote positive health and personal development for youth. Each year we educate hundreds of youth using the Botvin Lifeskills Training program, a research-based curriculum that focuses on three personal objectives for our youth:

Personal Self-Management Skills

• Students develop strategies for making healthy decisions, reducing stress, and managing anger.

General Social Skills

• Students strengthen their communication skills and learn how to build healthy relationships.

Drug Resistance Skills

• Students understand the consequences of substance use, risk-taking, and the influences of the media highly-interactive skills-based program designed to promote positive health and personal development for youth. Each year we educate hundreds of youth using the Botvin Lifeskills Training program, a research-based curriculum that focuses on three personal objectives for our youth: Students develop strategies for making healthy decisions, reducing stress, and managing anger.
• Students strengthen their communication skills and learn how to build healthy relationships.

Students understand the consequences of substance use, risk-taking, and the influences of the media.

In addition, we provide service learning activities where students can find creative ways to spread TYC’s anti-drug use message, including the use of photos, video and presentations.

We work with the Detroit Police Department in partnership with the Institute for Population Health’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment and Recovery to conduct alcohol and tobacco compliance checks so businesses in our neighborhoods do not sell to underage youth.

We provide outreach to several foster care facilities to offer the training in-house at these agencies around the city. Some of our partner agencies include Wolverine Human Services, Children’s Center of Michigan, Covenant House and Mariner’s Inn.

We work together with our partner prevention agencies to take the substance abuse prevention education message to Lansing to advocate for more funding of anti-drug, alcohol and tobacco programming. Also, we spread TYC’s anti-drug message at every TYC event. Together, we work to make our community drug-free and healthy.