Youth Prevention

Prevention is essential to promote behavioral health and to break the cycle of substance use and misuse.

Serenity House Impact Youth Prevention (Impact Program) began in 1993 and exists to build resilience by educating and empowering youth and families in our communities to pursue thriving and healthy lifestyles free from substance use or misuse.

The Impact program wants to be everywhere that youth are! We teach evidence-based curriculums to youth in schools PreK-12th grade, recreation centers, after school programs, juvenile correctional facilities, childcare facilities and other community sites in the greater Abilene, Wichita Falls and Weatherford communities. Impact seeks to improve lifelong health and wellness outcomes for youth and adults in our communities.

Prevention is essential for behavioral health and breaking the cycle of substance use and misuse. We always say, “Keep them from jumping upstream, and you won’t have to fish them out downstream.”

The Six Prevention Strategies

1. Information Dissemination

You may see an Impact booth set up at community events. We offer informational brochures that raise awareness about the harms of substance use and misuse, as well as the difficult issues that challenge our youth. Feel free to contact us if you want to set up a booth at your special event. You can also find us on our facebook page and youtube channel.

2. Prevention Education

Our prevention specialists visit classrooms and community sites for 10-12 weeks implementing the Too Good For Drugs, Positive Action, and Project Toward No Drug Abuse curriculums. Our prevention specialists are trained professionals, whose compassionate, caring hearts connect with students on their level. We equip, empower, and inspire youth to make the most out of their lives – making healthy choices!

3. Alternatives (Community Activities)

We are committed to providing safe, fun and supervised activities to people, so they can enjoy life by learning skills for healthy living. Our youth activities help young people, their families, and others reduce risk factors and increase protective factors to increase wellness.

4. Environmental Strategies

We impact environmental conditions by calling for changes in policies to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors. For example, tighter zoning restrictions on alcohol outlets or stronger enforcement to prevent underage purchases of alcohol and tobacco products. As these changes are carried out at the community level, they can have a sweeping impact.

5. Community-Based Projects

Prevention cannot be fully accomplished in the classroom alone. It must be reinforced and championed in the home and community. By collaborating with community coalitions, we expand the community resources available for prevention.

6. Problem Identification & Referral To Services

When we identify unhealthy behaviors and risk factors, we connect people to helpful resources in their community.