Collaboration Spotlights.

The Holyoke Youth Task Force is a model for successful community-based collaborations. By working together, Holyoke youth-serving, non-profit organizations expand their capacity to serve Holyoke youth, reduce duplication of services, and build relationships among community-based organizations.

An Environmental Approach to Reduce Underage Drinking in Holyoke

The Holyoke Youth Task Force has been funded through a Drug Free Communities grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for over five years. With this funding, the Holyoke Youth Task Force surveys Holyoke youth every two years to determine risk and protective factors affecting youth and then uses the data to implement environmental strategies to address these factors.

Currently, the Youth Substance Abuse Prevention committee of the Holyoke Youth Task Force is underway with a social marketing campaign geared toward parents. The "Parents Keep Talking, Your Teens Are Listening" campaign serves to remind parents of their importance and influence in helping their children make good choices, especially around alcohol and other drugs. Please see our website www.teensarelistening.org or www.tushijosescuchan.com to find out more!

The Holyoke Youth Task Force also received funding through the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. This collaboration expands the capacity of environmental strategies mentioned above to a include youth development approach to prevent underage drinking. Girls Inc. of Holyoke, El Arco Iris, and the Holyoke Health Center are working together to allow program youth to create and disseminate postive social marketing messages around the connection between teens and their parents. Posters, bumperstickers, photo novellas and other marketing materials will be created by the youth and distributed throughout the community.

***The Holyoke Youth Task Force is gathering a group of community volunteers interested in reducing youth access to alcohol in Holyoke. Would you be interested in working with a fun, energetic group of people on this topic? If so, please contact Rebecca at 532-6247, extension 108.

Youth Empowered to Succeed Initiative (Y.E.S.)

The Y.E.S. Initiative brings together six community-based organizations (Girls Inc. of Holyoke, the Holyoke Health Center, Neari Jump-Start, El Arco Iris, the Holyoke Youth Commission, and Holyoke Youth Build) in a collaborative effort to integrate, enhance, and build community-wide youth development programming with the purpose of preventing youth violence in the city of Holyoke.

Program youth experience entrepreneurial projects, evening training and youth leadership development opportunities through project-based learning activities, academic tutoring and other support, opportunities for leadership, and conflict resolution training. This initiative is funded through the MA Department of Public Health.