SHS CATALYST Members Attend CADCA Mid-Year Conference

Adlai E. Stevenson High School Catalyst members attended the #CADCAYouth Leadership conference held July 23 through 27 in Atlanta, GA. Catalyst members collaborated, trained, and finally presented their final Youth In Action Plans on their final day to the entire audience. They're excited to share what they learned with fellow students and community members!

Nearly 2,000 substance abuse prevention and treatment specialists from around the world will convene in Atlanta, July 23 – 27 for CADCA’s (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) 16th annual Mid-Year Training Institute. The week-long training, held at the Marriott Marquis, aimed to teach attendees how to address one of our nation’s biggest public health challenges – drug use.

"It is evident that there are issues we face in our communities and there has never been a time like the present for youth to rise to leadership roles in their coalitions. CADCA's Youth Leadership Training Courses develop critical thinking skills in youth and equips them with necessary tools to help your coalition achieve community-level change. Our training empowers young people to take youth-led civic action in their communities. Coalitions across the country are sending their youth through the rigors of these courses to help them work together more effectively." ~ CADCA

Catalyst Members Youth Leadership Tracks included:

The Key Essentials Course equips participants with the foundational tools needed to take the first steps in solving their communities’ problems around drugs, underage drinking, prescription drugs and other social ills using the Strategic Prevention Framework.
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The Advanced Course is only open to coalitions who have completed the Key Essentials Course and are committed to taking their work a step further. A deeper focus is placed on Leadership, Advocacy and Policy and Intervention Strategies. Teams had to submit products prior to attending the event such as: Coalition Community Assessment (with data), Logic Model (with data), Youth In Action Project. 

KEY ESSENTIALS OBJECTIVES

• Become more engaged Youth Leaders
• Learn and apply the Strategic Prevention Framework process
• Learn and apply components of a Community Assessment
• Conduct a Problem Analysis
• Learn the 7 Behavioral Change Strategies for a Comprehensive Intervention
• Develop an Action Plan for next steps for a "Youth- In-Action" Project

ADVANCED OBJECTIVES

• Demonstrate Key Leadership Skills via critical thinking applications and oral presentations
• Learn to define Community Problems using quantitative and qualitative data 
• Identify Environmental Strategies that impact community-level change
• Develop an Action Plan to support implementation of their youth-led projects
• Develop effective Advocacy Skills for Policy Change 

We encourage everyone to learn more about these amazing leaders of tomorrow and the Catalyst Club by visiting their page on the Stevenson website! You may also contact the club's sponsors Dr. Cristina Cortesi, Stevenson Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator or Jamie Epstein, Executive Chair of Stand Strong Coalition.