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| Cheyenne Schmitter & Emily Jester at the NYLI Conference |
The Van
Buren County SAFE Coalition along with more than 1,500 substance abuse
prevention and treatment specialists from across the country convened in
Indianapolis August 3rd – 6th for CADCA’s 2015
Mid-Year Training Institute. The week-long training, held at the JW
Marriott, taught participants how to address one of our nation’s biggest public
health challenges – youth drug use.
CADCA
sent the SAFE Coalition participants home, revved up and ready to implement new
ideas as “Agents of Change” in Truth or Consequences, in Van Buren County,
Iowa.
Emily Jester shared that
her experience in Indianapolis was a great opportunity. The NYLI taught her how
to recognize a problem in the community and effectively find a solution. She
also learned how to strategically put the resolution into action. The leaders at NYLI had great ways of
making our time worthwhile and exciting. As
teenagers, sitting all day long through seminars isn't a very effective way of
learning. So, the NYLI leaders made sure that they were not only mentally, but
physically involved with the material they were learning. They also had us talk
and listen on a personal level to the other people at the conference. What was
most interesting was hearing all of the different issues that people from all
over the country are dealing with and how they are planning to resolve their
problems. Emily plans on sharing as much information as she can with the rest
of the Youth Leadership Council to make sure everyone is taking a progressive
approach to addressing substance abuse in Van Buren County.
Cheyenne Schmitter shared
that the week at the NYLI Mid-Year Training was amazing and unforgettable. It was truly as their motto says “Youth Led –
Adult Guided”. It was so interactive and
they kept them interested. From the strategic
prevention framework to action planning she believes that she learned how to be
more effective in helping her community.
The trainers did great, for having approximately 200 kids there, of
listening to their ideas and answering their questions. The second day they broke the students into
breakout rooms, which was a great way for kids to put into action what they
learned and get feedback from the trainers in the room. Overall it was a great experience! The people that went with Cheyenne just added
to the greatness of the experience.
Thank you again for the amazing experience.
For more information on
the Youth Leadership Council or the SAFE Coalition please contact them at
319-293-6412 or at info@vbsafecoalition.com
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