StandUp – Tualatin’s Youth Coalition
StandUp Tualatin, the youth coalition supported and guided by Tualatin Together in partnership with Tualatin High School, has not let Covid19 and distance learning slow down their work. This group of motivated youth meets bi-monthly via Zoom to learn about evidenced-based prevention practices, trauma-informed practices, and strategic planning. As they consider their own neighborhoods, the environment in which they go to school, and the greater community around them, StandUp aspires to encourage those around them to be informed about the dangers of underage drug and alcohol use as well as provide healthy social alternatives.
Peer to Peer Support Training
StandUp is reading Friends Helping Friends: A handbook for Helpers by Carol Painter as they navigate how to strengthen peer-to-peer connections. The group is guided by an adult mentor who has worked with them through topics such as stress management, grief care, empathy, and listening. The students in the group are empowering themselves to attain the skills needed to build resilience while learning about themselves and how they interact with their peers. StandUp hopes to launch a Peer Ambassador program in the future. Volunteers are welcome to become trained to help support this program.
Strategic Planning for Now and in the Future
Over the past year, StandUp has made strides to become more than a high school club and to understand what being a youth coalition really entails. Dr. Rodney Wambeam, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center, University of Wyoming, has been doing a series of trainings with the team on Strategic Prevention Framework, much like those that members of the adult coalition take at the CADCA conferences. From the basics of defining what a coalition is to assessing their community and choosing the right prevention strategies based on the problem they have identified, Dr. Wambeam is training the youth to use a Strategic Prevention Framework. The youth are learning the importance of local data to build a logic model and implement a strategy to direct their work in the community. At the end of the series, StandUp students will learn how to evaluate if their work was effective and how to make adjustments to their strategies.
StandUp in the Community
StandUp continues to value volunteering and making the community a better place. This past fall, StandUp supported Tualatin Together’s Gratitude Pumpkin project by handing out pumpkins to every elementary student in Tualatin’s three elementary schools. While hosting a drive-through hot chocolate stand for former members of the group that was home for the holidays, students picked up thousands of packets of vegetable seeds from the Winona Grange #271. Over winter break, the students sorted the packets for the Grange. StandUp has also been hosting Wednesday WakeUp at Hazelbrook Middle School. StandUp has organized a series of virtual activities for the students to participate in and awarded prizes for the middle school students as well.
StandUp is always looking for more volunteer opportunities. Let us know if you know of a place where StandUp can help!