Youth Advocacy Coalitions – 1/29/07

Q:

Would you know of a reference regarding creating and sustaining youth advocacy coalitions?

A:

1. Alabama – Alabama has a program called YEP - which stands for the Youth Empowerment Program - we use with our mini-grant recipients.
    
2. California - We currently fund the California Youth Advocacy Network (CYAN). They are funded to provide statewide training and technical assistance (TAT) to our funded tobacco control projects addressing the youth and young adult population. In addition, CYAN has received national recognition for their work in addressing youth and young adults and currently provides TAT to many other states. They have a website that provides more information on their advocacy campaigns, resources available to download and how they can be contacted. The website URL is www.cyanonline.org
   
   Also, I would like to point out that we have a Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC) online catalog that is accessible to the public at www.tobaccofreecatalog.org. Available through the catalog are other educational materials, including a Youth Advocacy Guide that might be helpful to others who are addressing the youth population.
   
   Other references include the California Friday Night Live Program. (CFNLP) This program focuses on promoting healthy lifestyles free of alcohol, tobacco, or other substance abuse among youth. You can learn more about the CFNLP at http://www.fridaynightlive.org.
   
   There is also the Youth Leadership Institute. The YLI builds communities where young people and their adult allies come together to create positive social change. Their website is: www.yli.org
    
3. Michigan - There are some different guides specific to groups of youth or focus areas. Some examples that may be pertinent are:
   • CADCA - http://www.coalitioninstitute.org/
   • Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention – http://swpc.ou.edu/documents/resourcessustainingcoalitions_000.pdf
   • Advocates for Youth – http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/PUBLICATIONS/frtp/localcoalitions.htm
     
4. North Carolina – Wendy Lesko has written a couple of books that address these issues.
    
5. Rhode Island - The Legacy Foundation has great resources on their website about youth advocacy coalitions.
    
6. Utah - There is a great source for youth recruitment, advocacy skill building and coalition building; Youth Infusion Intergenerational Advocacy Toolkit by Wendy Schaetzel Lesko. You can order it through www.youthactivism.com.
    
7. West Virginia - While I cannot remember seeing a specific reference on creating and sustaining youth advocacy coalitions, I do feel that this very much can be considered a crucial part of effective youth tobacco prevention. For more information about West Virginia's youth empowerment program called Raze, see http://www.razewv.com/

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