Challenge at state conference spurs youth to troubleshoot problems in their community

By Jessica Coleman -- Daily Staff Writer

FRONT ROYAL — Some Warren County teenagers are making plans to change their community for the better.

Members of the Warren Coalition's student-led Youth in Action program recently attended a Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention conference at Longwood University in Farmville.

"We learned that we're not the only school in the state who has problems," said Charity Gaile, a junior at Warren County High School.

There were motivational speakers and presentations, as well as troubleshooting about problems faced in each community. But there was also a lot of fun, according to participants, including dancing, singing and hanging out with students from across the state.

"We like to keep everybody pumped up," said Nicole Bird, a senior at Warren County High School who acted as a youth leader. "It really makes you get out of your comfort zone."

At the conference the students were challenged to come up with solutions to problems in their community in the form of STAN plans, or Strategies to Act Now.

Last year the Warren County Youth in Action group won a $250 scholarship to implement its STAN plan to have monthly drug- and alcohol-free community parties for teens.

The students from Warren County were split into two teams and came up with two distinct problems and ways of addressing them. This year the group did not win a scholarship, but still intends to implement its plans.

One group said the biggest problem was having eighth-graders at the high schools, while the other said there weren't enough opportunities for youths to participate in community service activities.

"Youth don't have a voice in our community," said Amy Phipps, a junior at Warren County High School. So her group decided it wanted to create a student-led club in which youths create projects to help the community, including food and clothing drives, picking up trash and a host of others.

"We really want to get more people involved," Phipps said.

Gaile said her group felt that the biggest problem facing Warren County students is having the eighth-graders at the high school. She said she couldn't imagine how scared they must be to attend a high school with students much older than they are.

Her group's solution was to hold a mock YADAP conference at each of the high schools in which eighth-graders could address any issues they had and find solutions for them.

"We'd have them do what we did and make a plan," Gaile said. "We want them to feel comfortable coming to our schools."

Diane Fisher, the prevention project coordinator for the coalition, said she was proud of the students and their accomplishments at the YADAP conference.

"It kind of restores your faith in teenagers," she said.

* Contact Jessica Coleman at jcoleman@nvdaily.com