Youth Substance Use Prevention Educations + Harm Reduction

Youth overdose deaths continue to rise due to fentanyl, despite a decline in youth substance use overall. This webinar will discuss Safety First, a comprehensive school-based curriculum created to educate youth about substance use that includes prevention and harm reduction messaging. Safety First was originally created by the Drug Policy Alliance and has since been substantially revised and is now led by the REACH Lab at Stanford, overseen by Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher.
The purpose of Safety First is to encourage youth to abstain from use, but this curriculum also includes a clear harm-reduction message for youth who are experimenting or using, and provides students with scientifically accurate information to empower them to quit and/or reduce harm, should they choose to continue to use.
This webinar will discuss:
-An overview of the Safety First curriculum
-Why harm reduction education for youth is especially important in the context of rising overdose deaths
-An example of what harm reduction education for youth looks like in WA State
-How and why harm reduction can and should be provided alongside prevention messaging
Presenters:
Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher
Professor and Founder/Director, REACH Lab, Stanford University
Dr. Halpern-Felsher is a developmental psychologist with additional training in adolescent and young adult health. Funded by the NIH and many foundations, her research has focused on understanding and reducing adolescent and young adult tobacco use, alcohol and marijuana use, and risky sexual behavior.
Alexie Orr
Foundation for Youth Resiliency and Engagement (FYRE)
Alexie is an advocate for youth and young adults at FYRE, a community-based nonprofit in rural Washington. Alexie is a certified Recovery Coach, Peer Counselor, and WSU alum. She directly applies harm reduction practices in her work with young people who are experimenting with drugs, in active use, and/or who are at risk of use