Action Forum for Youth: Sparks Conversation

On September 20, 2023, Influence the Choice hosted its annual Action Forum forYouth at Blakely Hall in the Issaquah Highlands. Nearly fifty people attended. Parents, city governments, the Issaquah School District, and civic organizations attended the event, which focused on ways to prevent youth substance abuse and promote youth mental health.

Attendees at the Forum first reviewed information from the 2021 Healthy Youth Survey, but the real spark was a student panel discussing various aspects of young people’s lives in today’s changing world. All four students are members of TECH (Teens Encouraging Community Health), a youth program sponsored by Influence the Choice. The teens all said they felt supported by parents, friends, and community. However, they also provided many examples of how young people are not being given enough information or skill-building to resist the pressure to achieve, fit in with peers, or manage complex emotions. Panelists focused mainly on high school health class lessons.

Adult attendees were next asked to discuss the ideas presented in small groups. From those discussions, attendees provided Influence the Choice leaders with some clear directions for future actions:

• Ensure that middle school and high school health curriculums provide students with practical “refusal” skills and a better understanding of the consequences of substance use.

• Provide young people in Issaquah with alternatives to substance use and emphasize opportunities for connections to adults and peers.

• Be more aggressive in taking messages about substance abuse and mental health to community gatherings and events.

Alcohol Use Data by grade level (6th to 12th grade) from 2016 to 2021: Percent of students who report having drunk a glass, can, or bottle of alcohol in the past 30 days.

Cannabis Use Data by grade level (6th to 12th grade) from 2016 to 2021: Percent of students who report using cannabis in the past 30 days.

Vaping Use Data by grade level (6th to 12th grade) from 2016 to 2021: Percent of students who report using an electronic cigarette, e-sig, JUUL, or vape pen in the past 30 days.

Please note that this Healthy Youth Survey statistic data was administered in October 2021 when students returned to school after two years of remote learning during the pandemic. ISD students just did another Healthy Youth Survey in October 2023, which should be very interesting to analyze the results next year. However, the graphs above do show that:

1. Strong parental influence, as was experienced during the pandemic and

2. Lack of access to alcohol and drugs -- do work to reduce teen use. Influence the Choice has worked to increase both since our inception in 2010.

Influence the Choice, our community’s youth drug prevention coalition, was established in 2010. They have presented the Action Forum for Youth annually or biannually since its inception. In previous years, input from attendees has resulted in the construction of a new public skatepark in downtown Issaquah and led to the introduction of mental health counselors in all high schools in the Issaquah School District. Influence the Choice leaders appreciate the thoughtful comments received from this year’s attendees and will be working to turn them into actionable items. To learn more about Influence the Choice, please visit https://www.influencethechoice.org.