Addiction prevention targets youth

FINDLAY — Efforts are underway to prevent addiction among youth by improving their coping skills. The effort is being carried out by teachers, social workers, counselors, therapists, and social service agencies trained through a program offered by Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) and Family Resource Center (FRC). With federal money, FRC in recent years organized trainings for those professionals working with youth. "The grant has allowed us to increase our scope of services to youth and family, particularly children engaged in our mental health or behavioral health system," said Zachary Thomas, director of Wellness & Education for ADAMHS. The program uses the Youth Thrive framework, which develops in youth a variety of factors for success: • Resilience: includes managing the stressors of daily life and functioning well when faced with challenges, adversity and trauma; calling forth one's inner strength to proactively meet personal challenges, meet adversities, and heal the effects of trauma; becoming more self-confident and self-efficacious; having faith, feeling hopeful and optimistic; making productive decisions about addressing challenges; seeking help when needed; learning from failure. • Having social connections: Building a trusting relationship with at least one caring and competent adult; being constructively engaged in social institutions (school, religious communities, recreational facilities) that are safe, stable and equitable; building trusting relationships with positive, optimistic, mutually respectful peers with similar values. • Knowledge of adolescent brain development: including physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty; societal rules, demands, expectations and threats; one's personal history and needs, including one's trauma history; sexual behavior, responsibility, choices and consequences; engaging in positive risk-taking and avoiding negative risk-taking; developing mature values and behavioral controls to assess acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. • Concrete support in times of need: including being able to identify, find and receive basic necessities everyone deserves, as well as specialized services, such as medical, mental health, social, educational or legal; being resourceful; understanding one's rights in accessing eligible services; navigating through service systems; seeking help when needed. • Increasing cognitive and social/emotional competence: including developing "executive function" skills (considering potential consequences and seeing alternate solutions to problems); developing character strengths (such as persistence, gratitude, integrity); taking responsibility for one's self and one's decisions; developing self-awareness, self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-compassion; committing to and preparing to achieve productive goals.