My Choice Matters

The “My ChoIce MATTERs” Youth Summit was held at Cape Cod Community College. 70+ students attended from local schools including: Cape Cod Regional Technical High School, Dennis-Yarmouth High School, Lighthouse Charter School, Mashpee Middle-High School, Monomoy Middle & High School and Wayside Academy

More than 70 kids seated at the youth summit

The theme of the day was “Dreams Not Drugs.” In small, age-appropriate groups youth were engaged by facilitators in interactive and experiential learning activities and participated in discussions about choosing health behaviors to reduce substance use. 

Students in recovery from opioid use disorder came from Rockdale Recovery High School and delivered peer messages and answered questions during the Recovery Panel.  Slam poet Matt Ganem closed out the day with a power performance about his path to addiction and the impact it has had on his life.

Education curriculum, highly interactive exercises, and a facilitator training guide were created in support of this event. This day-long summit was co-designed with students in recovery.  The small groups were led by facilitators.  This event is now available for other school systems.

But don't listen to us, hear what the students had to say...

Did anything you learned today change your mind about using drugs or drinking?

What was the favorite part of the day for you?

A circle of kids at the youth summit