Youth attend National Leadership Forum with the Wellness & Prevention Center to advocate for substance use prevention and mental health supports for teens.
Arantza Villarroel is a Junior at San Clemente High School and President of the Cultural Unity Club
The new year has started wonderfully for the Wellness and Prevention Center (WPC) with the opportunity to attend the CADCA 2024 Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. The week-long conference is focused on youth, encouraging them to deepen their knowledge of substance use prevention and mental health, network, and represent their communities with lawmakers in the Capitol.
Thanks to the Wellness & Prevention Drug Free Communities grant, as well as generous donations from the Strength in Numbers club and The Noble Path Foundation, the trip was expense free for the youth attendees. There were South Orange County youth participants who took a plane from the coastlines of California to freezing D.C.
The invitations to attend were distributed among high school clubs the WPC supports, including Strength in Numbers, Cultural Unity from San Clemente High School, and The Noble Path Foundation Club at Capistrano Valley High school.
On Sunday morning of January 28th, the group met at San Clemente High School’s parking lot to await the bus. Five hours later, they arrived at the prestigious Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland.
The next morning, the group started their expedition through the sites on the DC mall and the events of the conference. Thanks to rigorous scheduling from the chaperones, and attentive ears to the youths’ requests, they were able to visit the main historical sites. They started at the Natural History Museum, and eventually went to the Washington monument, WWII memorial plaza, and the Lincoln Memorial.
By 5pm, the group was already back to the hotel, all prepared for the introductory ceremonies, an Ideas Fair (where organizations could inform the public about their purpose and method), and to end the night, a “youth mixer” for the adolescents to network. Everyone returned to their rooms that night with a funny story to share, the contacts of coalitions interested in collaborating with them, and some with new friends!
On Tuesday, the day started with an opening session in which we heard from the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control. The rest of the day was centered around training sessions for the youth and adults. A multitude of workshops were available along the day, with topics as interesting as: “To Infinity and Beyond”, discussing ageism and how to combat against it, directly from a 15 year old; “Eating an Elephant”, discussing tools, and skills to identify and diffuse conflict; and even a Spanish session teaching “El Arte de Trabajar en Equipo” (the Art of Teamwork), to help youth determine plans of actions, and learn the value of a wide variety of opinions intertwining for a common goal. The day finished off with a state meeting where all California participants could meet and discuss their plans for Capitol Hill Day.
Capitol Hill Day was the most awaited day of the trip, with the opportunity of talking to the Senator from California. The group informed the office of Senator Alex Padilla about the current situations in the state, such as the laws regarding vaping and marijuana use, as well as state law to support extensive Narcan distribution to reverse fentanyl overdoses. Lastly, the importance of directing culturally sensitive information towards specific communities, to educate as many people as possible. Each of the eight students representing the WPC had the opportunity to share.
On the way back home, the plane was filled with excited whispers, picking apart anecdotes in extreme detail. At the end, the bond between the chaperones and coalition strengthened, and the youth came back to their communities with extended knowledge, ready to be the change they so excitedly desire to be.