Grand Futures Prevention Coalition

Grand Futures Prevention Coalition is a community resource for teen and young adult substance abuse prevention in Northwest Colorado, serving Routt, Moffat, and Grand counties since 1990. We focus on positive youth development by empowering youth as leaders in peer prevention. To support these young minds we also provide education for trusted adults and focus on engaging the community as a whole to help ensure unified substance prevention messaging and behaviors are modeled throughout the community to help teach the skills needed for youth to make positive lifestyle choices. The majority of our evidence-based and innovative educational programming is focused on youth, primarily grades 6-12. We also provide education, resources and support for school staff, school boards, parents, coaches and youth mentors throughout our community. Our goal is to help the communities we served to better understand the risks and harms associated with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drug use, and especially how these substances affect the developing brain. By educating youth about the risks and harms of substance use, while also helping educate adults as to how to become a trusted adult and provide an open, nonjudgmental dialogue with youth, we are creating an environment where young minds are better able to make positive choices based on fact that will lead to healthier, substance free lifestyles. This year we reached over 450 youth through Youth Action Councils and prosocial events, and trained over 300 adults in positive youth development and youth mental health first aid.