This session will highlight the Youth Prevention Network, a youth-led prevention model created by CWC Alliance and Resilient Georgia to strengthen mental wellness and reduce substance-related harm. Piloted in Georgia, this statewide prevention initiative integrates mental wellness, substance use prevention, and peer leadership through a scalable "Backpack Strategy."

Drawing from on-the-ground implementation in diverse communities, panelists will discuss how centering youth voice, training youth and adult allies together, and equipping young people with portable skills can transform prevention efforts. This session addresses how communities can prepare young people to become prevention leaders and explores how mental wellness, emotional regulation, and connection function as core prevention strategies.

Participants will engage in discussion around what youth are telling us about stress, pressure, and decision-making, and leave with practical frameworks they can adapt in schools, community organizations, and prevention systems nationwide.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify key components of youth-led, peer-to-peer prevention models.
2. Apply the "Backpack Strategy" to design prevention programming that is portable, relevant, and sustainable.
3. Recognize the value of training youth and adult allies together to strengthen prevention ecosystems.
4. Integrate youth voice and lived experience into prevention planning and implementation.