Winooski Partnership for Prevention

Our organization's goals are to reduce addiction and its associated consequences in Winooski, Vermont, as well as reinforce and support substance use prevention efforts in Chittenden County.

We have found that one of the most exciting and inspiring ways to address this challenge is by developing the leadership among those most affected by this issue, youth. In our after school program in which we build skills, knowledge, and practices with youth so that youth can be the positive forces for community change that support the health of all community members.

Winooski Above the Influence (ATI) is the name of our after-school group that meets once a week at the local school where students gain valuable leadership skills as well as connect with other students who share similar values. This group's name shows its connection to the successful national campaign Above the Influence. We employ and adapt from a curriculum we developed by Dover, New Hampshire's Youth to Youth, One voice, Youth Empowerment model. This model is an evidence-informed strategy that builds skills, knowledge, and leads to youth leadership in community change.

Underpinning all of our work is the sharing of credible, factual information with youth, parents, leaders, and community at large and creating and participating in programming that enables connecting people to each and credible information at community dinners, forums, meetings, and other events throughout the year. We also have a newsletter that we send out every 2-3 weeks to our members, and a strong social media presence.

The staff is qualified and experienced, and we are continually working to build and strengthen relationships with many community partners. Our board of trustees represents a variety of sectors in Winooski, including youth, parents, youth- serving organizations, LGBTQ+, racial and ethnic minorities, etc. We have fiscal and organizational support from the Vermont Department of Health, foundations, and local donors. We learn from other organizations doing similar prevention work in our county, state, and country. We have existed as an organization since 2003, and as an independent nonprofit since 2010.

*We have led youth leadership programming since 2003, and instituted and grown an Above the Influence-themed group since 2012. We have increased our capacity to carry this group out by training staff in the One Voice Youth Empowerment model, as well. *We have assisted local government officials in understanding the interest of community members in seeing less alcohol and tobacco advertising in the city, and more smoke-free outdoor spaces, and since then, the city has adopted three parks as smoke-free and reduced the amount of overall signage in the downtown area. We have supplied information about current challenges and opportunities related to substance use, as well as physical activity and nutrition, to local government.