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The goal
of the Youth Video Project is to empower youth to
change their environment by creating a video
documentary on substance abuse-related problems and
policy-based solutions. Rather than focusing on how
many young people are using alcohol and other drugs
and how extensively their lives are damaged, the |
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youth video project will take a more positive
approach; showing the constructive things that youth
can do and are doing to improve their
environments. |
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| Students
from El
Capitan High School’s
Teen Mentor class form the core group for the
project. Other participants include students from Grossmont
High School
and members of the Grace Covenant Church Youth
Group. As part of the project, they receive “hands
on” experience working in all aspects of
filmmaking;
camera work, |
 |
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scripting, and sound
editing techniques, all of which is guided by an
expert in the field of video production. |
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| The
project will consist of four phases, the first of
which will be an assessment of the problem areas the
students find in their own environment. This phase
includes key informant interviews, law enforcement
ride-alongs and surveys of local retail alcohol
outlets. |
| In Phase 2, the Youth examine current
prevention efforts and activities in the community
and evaluate their effectiveness.
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| Then in Phase 3, the youth discuss their
findings in a “Policy Panel” format, where they
develop a set of recommendations to strengthen
substance abuse prevention policy. |
| Finally,
in Phase 4, the youth will participate in
spokesperson training to sharpen their public
speaking skills. This will prepare them to present
their findings and recommendations to community
leaders, school board members, elected officials and
other policy makers. They will also work with the
media to increase the public’s awareness of how
prevention policy can reduce problems caused by
substance abuse. The goal of all these activities is
to build public support for stronger prevention
policy. |
| The
video documentary will be used in several ways: as a
training video for schools to demonstrate how youth
can get involved in AOD prevention, at AOD
prevention conferences as an example of a model
program or best practice, and/or as a TV news
documentary to build public support for stronger AOD
policy. The
documentary will also be shown to local community
groups to educate and challenge their members to
become involved in AOD prevention efforts. |
