“The Solano Youth Coalition are leaders in our community, using their voices to educate their peers"

SOLANO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - Thirty students from Solano County schools, Solano County Office of Education staff and over 700 students from across the Bay Area attended the 23rd Annual Teens Tackle Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs and Youth Wellness Conference this month, held virtually due to COVID restrictions. Students from Benicia, Travis, Fairfield-Suisun, Vacaville, and Vallejo City Unified School Districts attended workshops designed by youth for youth. Workshop topics included: healthy relationships, tobacco and vaping, mental health and more. Participants walked away with a better understanding about prevention, cessation, community resources, refusal skills and overall wellness.

Solano Youth Coalition’s (SYC) Family Justice Youth Committee (FJCYC) presented the workshop on healthy relationships that included warning signs of abuse, forms of abuse and what resources are available to victims. The Social Justice and Racial Equity Committee (SJREC) hosted a workshop about allyship, focusing on privilege and power and how they can be used to make better allies. The Mental Health Awareness Committee (MHAC) presented workshops at both middle and high school levels. Their Messin’ with Stressin’ workshop focused on the effects of stress, the different types of stress and how to utilize positive and health coping techniques.

According to the Solano County Superintendent of Schools Lisette Estrella-Henderson, “The Solano Youth Coalition are leaders in our community, using their voices to educate their peers, engaging with adult allies, and share resources with their peers. Through their work around mental health, teen dating violence, social justice and racial equity, they are making positive changes in our community and showing how powerful the youth voice is.

”For more information on SYC contact Johanna Nowak-Palmer at [email protected].