Young people are always being told what to think, how to dress, what to say, who to be, and so on. Young people are used to hearing a sea of voices from adults telling them how to live, and they’re tired of not being able to tell their own story. 

This year, the We Are The Majority Rally will give one talented young person precisely that opportunity. The WATM Rally will culminate at the Ohio Statehouse as it does every year. And at the Statehouse, with 2,000 young people assembled, one young person will step up to the podium and deliver a speech. 

That young person can be you, if you win our first ever youth speech competition. You could take your story and your message to a statewide stage and inspire 2,000 of your peers as they strive to also be heard above the noise. 

Speeches should follow the official guidelines, address at least one prompt fully, and last between three and five minutes. To be considered for this opportunity, participants must meet the following criteria:

Speech submissions consist of two components:

Every year, the Ohio Youth-Led Prevention Network, funded by the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services, hosts the We Are the Majority Rally to challenge negative stereotypes of young people and raise awareness around the fact that the majority of youth choose not to use drugs and alcohol. 

This year is extra special because we’re centering everything around a theme that represents young people’s journey from healthy decision-maker to youth-led advocate: We Believe, We Persist, We Prevent.

Registration is easy and free, but space is limited. Learn more about the WATM Rally and reserve your spot by registering at preventionactionalliance.org/watm. 

To help offset costs associated with attending the We Are The Majority Rally, we’re proud to offer travel reimbursement awards for the We Are The Majority Rally. Awards may be used for transportation costs such as vehicle rentals, driver fees, and gas mileage (at 52 cents per mile). 

If you submit your reimbursement award form by April 6, you can receive pre-approval for a travel reimbursement award. You will still need to complete the post-event items by May 19. Pre-approval awards and post-rally awards must have all items submitted by May 19. 

What: The G.A.P. Network Regional Summit was created to honor the lives lost to this epidemic of overdoses, help you become more resilient, and work through your grief. We will help you find your voice to help you speak on behalf of your loved ones and advocate for prevention.

The summit will:

The G.A.P. Network (Grief to Advocacy for Prevention) connects grieving families to resources and builds communication channels across Ohio to support advocacy, education, and prevention. These summits also build resilience among attendees.

When and Where: Saturday, March 14th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Zanesville,

or Saturday, April 11th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Akron.

How much: These Summits are free to attend.

Continuing Education: 2.5 hours, Prevention Education and Service Delivery

What: Advanced Ethics is a course for experienced prevention professionals and an in-depth exploration of the role of ethics in substance abuse prevention work. It begins with an overview of ethical concepts and a critical look at pertinent ethical issues facing practitioners today including the use of social media and organizational policy. It also provides expanded opportunities to apply a decision-making model to an assortment of challenging ethical scenarios.

Participants will:

Lunch will be provided.

Who: This training is ideal for:

When and Where: Wednesday, April 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Matthew B. Schoonover Educational Center at Prevention Action Alliance in Columbus.

How much: $100

Continuing Education: 6 hours, Ethics.

Despite the fact that 21 million Americans suffer from a substance use disorder, there’s a lot of misinformation about addiction out there. 

Unfortunately, many people erroneously believe that addiction is a moral failing or a lack of willpower rather than a disease marked by fundamental changes to the brain. These changes create an intense craving for the addicted substance or behavior. That craving overrides other needs, like caring for yourself, your children, or your relationships.  

Like other diseases, addiction has symptoms that can be observed. These include impaired control, social problems, risky use, and drug effects:

If you’re concerned about yourself or someone else, get help at findtreatment.gov.

The Ohio School Safety Center is pleased to announce that registration for the first Ohio School Safety Summit June 10–12 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center is now available.

This summit will provide an opportunity to foster cross-discipline conversations regarding student safety and wellness. Conference presentations and training opportunities will include experts in each of the following critical areas: physical security, emergency management, mental health, school climate, suicide prevention, critical incident response, cyber safety, transportation, and threat assessment.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Discovery Education announced the release of Operation Prevention, a four-part digital module series to educate workplace professionals about the opioid epidemic and provide resources for prevention.

These no-cost, self-paced resources are focused on treatment seeking activities, resource location, effective communication, and more.

Did you know that by shopping at Kroger you could support Prevention Action Alliance at no additional cost to you? 

Kroger Community Rewards donates to local organizations based on the shopping you do. When you check out with your Kroger Plus Card, contributions to Prevention Action Alliance will be made automatically and at no cost to you.

To start, you’ll need to apply for a Kroger Plus Card in your local Kroger store. If you already have a Kroger Plus Card, you can log into or create a digital account and name Prevention Action Alliance as your participating nonprofit. 

Even if you’ve signed up in the past, you may need to re-designate Prevention Action Alliance as your nonprofit. Registrations are good for one year before you must reapply. 

If you shop on Amazon, please consider making Prevention Action Alliance the nonprofit you support through AmazonSmile. 

AmazonSmile is operated by Amazon and lets customers enjoy the same selection of products, prices, and features as on Amazon. When customers shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to nonprofits. 

Selecting Prevention Action Alliance as the nonprofit you want to support is as easy as clicking here. You can also go to AmazonSmile.com, log in or create an account, and go to Your Account. From there, select Change Your Amazon Smile Charity. Type “Prevention Action Alliance” into the search bar, and then click “Select” on the next page. 

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?