This is the motto that has found its way into the minds and hearts of the members of some of Rockdale County’s distinguished youth leaders of the Youth Action Team (YAT).  The YAT was formed in 2014 to support the vision and mission of the Drug Free Community (DFC) Coalition. This, succinctly stated, is to make a difference in the lives of youth and adults in Rockdale County, and to reduce and prevent youth substance use/abuse. Since its inception, YAT has been focused on educating the community about the importance of staying drug and alcohol free, teaching parents/adults the signs of drug use and abuse, and providing information about resources available, should the need for such arise.

The start of 2016 finds the YAT members busy at work coming up with new strategies to engage the community through collaboration and partnerships with home, school, and business leaders, and increase the growth of the organization through engaging more youth leaders. Additionally, the team is hard at work planning their biggest community initiative to date, a 5K-trail race in partnership with the annual Cherry Blossom Festival on April 2nd at the Georgia International Horse Park. More information on their event, “Run Away From Drugs: A 5K Race Against Substance Abuse” will be forthcoming.

YAT, under the guidance of DFC Coalition leaders, is comprised of teens across the county who meet once a month to discuss issues related to substance abuse. They discuss preventative measures, education, and motivation, staying abreast of the ever-evolving trends, and discussing strategies to increase positive behavior.

Choices have consequences, and they believe that if the community is fully educated about the dangers of engaging in substance abuse, whether it is alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription drug related, then they can be proactive and vigilant about affecting positive change. The members of YAT have made the pledge to “Choose the Right High” and they hope to encourage others to do the same.

YAT hopes to meet their goals and the goals of the DFC Coalition of reducing youth substance abuse by addressing the factors in their community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse. YAT is constantly in search of other youth volunteers from all of the Rockdale County Middle and High Schools to ensure both the growth and efficacy of this initiative. If you are interested in making a difference in your community through advocacy, please contact the DFC at [email protected] or 770-761-9244.

Written By: Jazz Duncan, YAT