How Iceland Got Teens to Say No to Drugs

A tech-enabled solution from two students at the University of Oregon allows community members to connect in order to best support homeless youth. The platform, called the Rapid Access Network (RAN), serves as a way for individuals who identify needs for homeless youth to immediately alert the appropriate service provider and facilitate a quick delivery of supplies or services.

Surfing lessons are bridging racial divides and providing a therapeutic outlet for disadvantaged children in South Africa. In a society largely segregated by race, children in Cape Town’s black communities disproportionately suffer the traumatic effects of violence and poverty. Waves for Change, a nonprofit based in Muizenberg, uses surf therapy as a way to mentor and empower kids in Cape Town, helping to desegregate South Africa’s beach and surf culture in the process.

Building connections and learning to cope can help to break the inter-generational cycle of addiction. The nonprofit Eluna operates a camp in Dayton, Ohio, for children whose families have been ravaged by addiction. In addition to receiving the support of adult mentors, the children also engage in activities designed to teach them skills to manage their emotions. With funding from government subventions and private donations, Eluna plans to open several more camps nationwide.

New Mexico has been fighting the rise of the opioid epidemic for decades, so when medical professionals noticed an increase in opioid-dependent mothers giving birth, one doctor started a new program to address this. This program uses both medication-assisted substance abuse treatment and behavioral therapy, and has resulted in a decrease in overdose deaths.

A town in West Virginia was lacking resources for mental health care, so high school juniors were tapped to fill the need. Learning skills such as how to use naloxone to in an overdose situation to asking open-ended questions to intervene in a crisis, the students walked away from a “life & recovery coach academy” equipped with usable skills, college credits, and a certificate, while also reentering their community as more engaged citizens.

Named after his daughter who overdosed, a former narcotics police officer created Brooke's House, a women's treatment facility in Maryland. Combining methodologies and using multiple approaches, the program works to help residents achieve sobriety through counseling and treatment.

Twenty high school students enrolled in Territory, an urban design nonprofit, produced a zine and their own quality of life report for West Austin, where many of the students live. The students conducted interviews, surveys, and gathered community input to create the report. It includes sections on public safety, youth empowerment, and mental health.

The MYENJAY Hope and Healing Foundation provides mental health awareness and sensitization efforts regarding substance use among young students. Volunteers from the program visit schools to talk to students, providing interventions and educational resources to help them understand the dangers of drug use. School officials say that since the program began talking with students, they have seen a significant increase in good behavior and a reduction in substance use.

Lawrence Hall’s transitional housing in Chicago is a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community in the foster care system to live and receive wraparound support while they get ready for the next step in their lives, whatever that may be. Many of the staff also identify as LGBTQ+ and help them learn to cook, keep a job, or answer questions about things like hormone therapy and gender-affirming care.

The Creative Minds club provides a creative, supportive outlet for high school students amid a rise in teen homicides due to gun violence and racial tension. Students in the club meet to discuss their feelings, grieve and participate in forms of self-expression like writing and artwork to help manage their mental health.