The Montgomery County Prevention Coalition is awarding ten schools a combined total of more than $82,000 thousand to develop peer-to-peer support programs.
The coalition trains students in grades 6 through 12. Students then create programs which in turn encourage their peers to refrain from using drugs and alcohol.
They will also advocate getting help for mental health issues.
Colleen Oakes oversees the coalition and says the students they train are not acting as therapists–instead they bridge the gap between a student in need and a positive resource.
“The goal is just to train our youth on when is it important to bring in that caring adult, when is it necessary to say ‘have you talked with our guidance counselor, or here is the suicide prevent text line, it might be worth it to shoot them a text,” Oakes explained.
According to Oakes, students who complete the Coalition’s training can actually help bridge the gap between a student in need and a positive resource.
“When we are working with our sixth-through twelfth graders–we actually can get that support to those students before they have their first drink or have that first cigarette or first vape or try cannabis for the first time,” Oakes said. “And we’re training our students to be on the lookout for signs and symptoms of mental health disorders as well so they can help connect their friends to resources.”
In addition, Oakes also believes those who participate in the student-led initiatives become more empathetic as they mature into adults.
“They really understand how the situations someone is going through as they’re growing up can impact their mental health, can impact their risk factors in using substances,” Oakes said. “This is a Brene’ Brown quote ‘It’s not what’s wrong with you. It’s what happened to you.’ So we encourage them to think about all the different ways their peers grew up, the experiences they had, the trauma they may have gone through and how it impacts the decisions they make. This is something so hard to teach youth–it’s teaching empathy.”
These projects will operate during this 2023-2024 school year.
