County Empowers Teens to Fight Substance Misuse

Santa Barbara County’s Department of Behavioral Wellness is using school clubs, youth leadership projects and early-intervention services to put teenagers at the center of local substance-misuse prevention efforts. County prevention programs describe Friday Night Live as a youth-development model that builds skills while supporting alcohol and drug prevention through school-based clubs and youth leadership council projects. The same prevention portfolio also includes family classes, community coalitions and a school intervention model aimed at students who may need help earlier. ### Which county programs actually put teens in leadership roles? Friday Night Live is the clearest example of a county-backed peer leadership track. Santa Barbara County says the program uses a youth-development model that promotes skill development while supporting alcohol and drug prevention through school club-based programs and youth leadership council projects. The county’s prevention page also links to a youth leadership and membership application, indicating the work is organized as an ongoing program rather than a one-time campaign. (countyofsb.org) The county’s prevention office lists additional partners across the region, including Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, People Helping People in the Santa Ynez Valley and Future Leaders of America in Santa Barbara. Those groups sit alongside countywide family classes and student intervention services, showing the youth effort is spread across multiple communities rather than concentrated in one campus or city. ### How does the county connect peer leadership to substance-misuse prevention? (countyofsb.org) Santa Barbara County says its prevention initiatives are built around community coalitions, educational programs and early intervention services focused on underage drinking, underage marijuana use, excessive drinking and opioid misuse. That means teen leadership is being used inside a broader county strategy, not as a stand-alone youth campaign. The Student Assistance Program uses a Brief Risk Reduction Interview and Intervention Model, or BRRIIM, to support students through what the county describes as a prevention role of intervention. (countyofsb.org) The county also offers Strengthening Families classes focused on communication and support, pairing youth-facing work with family-based prevention. ### Where can teens go if they are worried about themselves or a friend? The Santa Barbara Opioid Safety Coalition’s youth resource page tells teens to encourage a friend using drugs to talk to a trusted adult and points them to treatment and wellness resources across the county. (countyofsb.org) It also directs young people to the Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Treatment Centers in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Lompoc for confidential assessments about substance use and its effects on life and relationships. OK Santa Barbara County, a website created by the county’s Department of Behavioral Wellness in collaboration with local youth, is another part of that network. The site says it gives young people a place to talk about mental health, substance misuse, anxiety and stress, and to find coping tools and support. ### Why does the county tie substance use to resilience and mental health? The county’s Behavioral Wellness department says it promotes prevention and recovery from addiction and mental illness and identifies transition-age youth as a priority population. (opioidsafetysb.org) On its youth mental health page, the county says 75% of mental illnesses begin during early adolescence and early adulthood, and that it offers services for people ages 16 to 25. The youth resource page for the opioid safety coalition says fentanyl poisonings and mental health concerns are rising among local youth. (opioidsafetysb.org) It presents county-backed mental health and substance-use resources together, including OK Santa Barbara County and YOR Place drop-in centers for young people ages 12 to 24 and their families. ### What should families watch for next? Santa Barbara County keeps the prevention programs, provider listings and youth resources on its Behavioral Wellness pages, where families can find contacts for Friday Night Live, student intervention services and countywide family classes. (countyofsb.org) YouthWell also maintains a countywide directory of mental health and wellness services for young people and families. For immediate behavioral health help, the county lists a 24-hour access line at 888-868-1649, while OKSBC.org remains the youth-facing entry point for online support. (opioidsafetysb.org) (countyofsb.org)