KCPC - WKTV Journal

By Kent County Prevention Coalition

The Above the Influence [ATI]–Kent County Youth Summit is a Generation Y- and Z-driven conference powered by the Kent County Prevention Coalition (KCPC).

Birthed out of a vision to empower community youth, The Summit is designed to equip middle and high school youth to think critically about personal choices and future ambitions, emerging community health and wellness trends related to underage substance use/misuse, and the power community teens have individually and collectively to impact peers, family and community norms and the world by making a personal commitment to live Above the Influence.

This year’s ‘Summit: Recode‘ is all about encouraging this generation to take a stand and to drive positive change in the community, while transforming health and wellness trends and overcoming pop culture messages that suggest that alcohol, tobacco and other drugs are not harmful. Ultimately, this year’s theme speaks to Summit 2017’s goal of empowering and equipping every attendee to excel individually, lead socially and revolutionize their families, schools and community by living Above the Influence.

The Summit is designed to:

Engage youth in being visible, valuable and vocal to underage substance use prevention efforts in Kent County
Champion the voices and engagement of youth in the work of underage substance use prevention
Understand the underage substance use issues and emerging trends in Kent County
Engage youth as investors in the health and wellness of Kent County
Develop adolescent leadership skills and talents
Foster relationship-building among teens across the county, state and region
Create opportunities for youth to engage community leaders and elected officials
Uses innovation, art, technology and media to deliver prevention messages

The Kent County Prevention Coalition (KCPC) is a team of 25+ member organizations who all share a genuine concern for improving the health and wellness of the community. They band together to change community conditions, norms, systems and policies in a variety of creative ways.

The organization’s purpose is to prevent and reduce substance use behaviors in Kent County with a focus on youth. They are committed to being visible, valuable and vocal in the work of substance abuse prevention.

The work of the coalition is about people, passion, partnerships and performance. These goals are achieved by taking prevention to culture. Rather urban, suburban or rural, these issues impact where people work, live, play, learn and worship.