Visit our website, built for teens, by teens:

https://teensfortomorrow.clark.wa.gov/

 

Now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year!

TFT peer educators are driven to build resilience and open doors to healthier futures by educating themselves and their peers in substance use prevention. We act as liaisons both individually and within our community through planning, organization, and participation in prevention activities.

We welcome applications from any youth living in Clark County who will be 12-18 years old in the 2022-2023 school year and feel they may benefit from increased involvement in their community.

Please know that applicants do not need any volunteer or leadership experience to apply, and it is ok if you need a little extra encouragement to fill out an application. If you need help with your application, please contact our program coordinator, Alaina Green, at 564.397.5841 or alaina.green@clark.wa.gov.

Apply now! Applications due by Tuesday, June 6.

 

---

Who We Are

Teens for Tomorrow (TFT) is a nonjudgmental group made up of youth, ages 12-18, working to protect our community and our peers from the impacts of substance use, using our own words and in our own way. We seek to represent the diverse geographic regions and populations of the county. We are a group comprised of youth who have never used drugs and alcohol, youth with past experimentation/use, and youth who have completed treatment and are now in recovery. By seeking out youth with different backgrounds, we gain a stronger understanding of how we can prevent substance use, and learn how to better teach and share healthier coping skills with other people our age.

 

What We Do

We work to encourage healthy behavior, build resilience, provide coping resources and support to youth in our community. However, within our prevention work, TFT creates connections and bonds with those we impact, and we demonstrate how connection is the best prevention. We do this by:

• Promoting awareness through outreach and educational programs, while serving as a resource for our peers at school and/or one-on-one
• Advising various community organizations on how to best prevent youth substance use in our community
• Supporting programs and policies that minimize youth substance use

We are fighting for a better future for youth in Clark County and beyond!

 

Contact Us

Visit us on Instagram to further engage with Teens for Tomorrow!

 

 

For more information, contact:

Alaina Green
Clark County Prevention Specialist
Teens for Tomorrow Program Coordinator
Phone: 564.397.5841

Our Work

• 2017-2018 Annual Report (PDF) 
• Teen: Off-limits shops too appealing - Boy's survey finds stores for e-cigarettes, hookah, pot too accessible to kids The Columbian (Published: March 20, 2015)

Special Projects

The following events have become part of TFT's annual work plan:

Prevention Summit: Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) hosts a statewide prevention summit each fall, offering workshops to youth and adults on current prevention work and research. The conference also offers keynote speakers, as well as time to brainstorm local project ideas.

Prevention Policy Day: TOGETHER, an organization based in Thurston County, coordinates this day of service that connects youth with their state legislators. Youth prevention teams have the opportunity to network and celebrate their work. At this event, we get to attend brief meetings with our local lawmakers to discuss legislation related to substance use, and talk about youth prevention efforts in Clark County.

Washington State Spring Youth Forum: Youth groups from across the state submit an application detailing the work they accomplished with a specific project that year. They have the opportunity to showcase their work at this event which is held at Great Wolf Lodge (Grand Mound, WA). This forum, hosted by the Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, brings together some of the strongest and most innovative youth prevention teams in the area.

Past Projects

Red Ribbon Week Poster Contest and Workshop: For this project, TFT members led a prevention-themed poster contest and workshop with a group of 1st through 5th grade students at the Boys and Girls Club. The students created posters about their favorite healthy coping skill, and voted for the winning posters on the last day of their workshop. 

All of the posters were displayed at a local coffee shop after the event, so that our community could learn more about healthy coping skills too.

Want to lead your own prevention-themed poster contest? Download our how to guide in PDF and adapt it to the goals of your community or audience. Please credit Teens for Tomorrow when you do.

We Are Still Learning Too: A Youth-to-Youth Panel: After reviewing our 2016 Healthy Youth Survey data and reading about how a large portion of youth in our community experience depression and anxiety, we were worried and wanted to do something about it. Youth want to hear stories from other teens and want to know they’re not alone. Hearing stories from adults is important, but hearing stories from other teens can be empowering. That is why we did a panel on healthy coping. Interested in hosting your own youth panel? Download our how to guide in PDF or Word and adapt it to the goals of your community or audience. Please credit Teens for Tomorrow when you do.

"Good Friends in Hard Times. Friendship. Own It." Workshop: In 2018, Teens for Tomorrow members supported the coordination of the Teens Care Too Youth Summit in Clark County. Members offered youth voice in the planning process in partnership with the Connect Evergreen coalition and also instructed a workshop during the conference called, “Good Friends in Hard Times. Friendship: Own It.” Script available online! Use or modify in your community, school, or class. Found at: www.youthnow.me

Other Information

2021 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey

The Healthy Youth Survey provides important information about youth in Washington. County prevention coordinators, community mobilization coalitions, community public health and safety networks, and others use this information to guide policy and programs that serve youth. The information from the Healthy Youth Survey can be used to identify trends in the patterns of behavior over time. In October 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021 students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 answered questions about safety and violence, physical activity and diet, alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, and related risk and protective factors.

Click here for more prevention resources!