Join the “No Shame” Movement
Make a Memorial Donation
click to go to
Donate

SAFE Choices:
Serving Youth & Young Adults

Prioritizing the advancement of youth substance use prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery.

Our SAFE Choices Mission:

Foster resiliency in youth development through collaborative and diversified approaches that reduce risk of substance addiction and mental health challenges while empowering SAFE Choices in all stages of youth development.

Our Vision:

ALL youth reach their fullest potential.

Our Goals:

Ensure young people have the information and tools necessary for making meaningful SAFE Choices. Our goals respect individual basic motivation and personal autonomy, as well as self-determination, and the fact that every person is one choice away from a different life.

  • Goal #1: Design and implement innovative programs that build resilience and essential life skills through empowering and engaging education for disparate populations of underserved youth.
  • Goal #2: Advance evidence-informed prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery strategies that enhance youth social and emotional learning and wellness in all stages of youth development.
  • Goal #3: Foster life-fueling connection opportunities for youth that focus on stigma reduction and the promotion of healthy choices across the lifespan.
  • Goal #4: Advocate for effective mental, emotional, and behavior interventions for the youth sector through targeted outreach and the formation of collaborative relationships.

SAFE Choices Programs Available

No Shame Education Program

No Shame Education Program

Designed to increase knowledge and understanding of principles on the No Shame Pledge and empower action to combat stigma.

“Connections” Program

Youth and young adults impacted by disciplinary measures and/or the justice system have a unique chance to make positive human connections and develop essential life skills.

Additional SAFE Choices Resources

Youth & Youth-Led Groups

Prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery resources/activities for youth and young adults.

Parents, Guardians, & Caretakers of Youth

Prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery resources for parents, guardians, and caregivers of youth, including young children and teenagers.

Educators & Youth-Serving Organizations

Prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery resources for educators and youth-serving organizations.

Choose Knowledge: “Power to Empower”

Choose knowledge with these publications, journals, & reports that pertain to youth substance prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery.
The “We Are Not Alone” Tour

SAFE Project and RISE TOGETHER have partnered to bring an engaging and meaningful presentation on substance use, mental health, wellness, and real stories of both loss and recovery to local school communities. These presentations are not the typical “drug assemblies” of the past, but are tailored to genuinely speak to youth on their own level. By sharing real-life stories of loss and recovery, the presentation helps students understand the impact that substance use can have on their lives and the lives of those around them. By providing practical tools and strategies for promoting mental health and wellness, the presentation empowers students to take control of their own wellbeing and make positive choices for their future.

Learn More & Request This Program For Your School
Youth Authors and Illustrators Week 2024

Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week is celebrated the entire month of February here at SAFE Project!

April 2024: Alcohol Awareness Month

Alcohol is everywhere, readily available with ease of access. With such cultural saturation and normalization, one might ask: do we really need more awareness?

Truth be told, though alcohol has infiltrated our lives with advertising and market inundation, our society seldom raises awareness about alcohol normalization nor the public health realities that this normalization conceals. By overlooking, ignoring, and stigmatizing, we generate alcohol blindness, a life threatening and dangerous concoction.

The consequences are no April Fool’s joke! Alcohol is America’s leading substance of misuse. 96.5% of teenagers who die from excessive alcohol use die from acute causes, such as suicide or car accidents, as opposed to chronic conditions such as liver disease. The magnitude of alcohol-related death in the United States is almost 50% greater than for opioids. We can’t afford to continue to treat alcohol differently. It is equally critical that we talk about and address an alcohol epidemic alongside the opioid epidemic.

SAFE Project is joining the awareness efforts this month with an aim to break the silence around alcohol blindness, one of the greatest public health challenges facing our society today.

For parents, guardians, and caretakers of youth, we encourage you to engage in frequent conversations with your children about alcohol. In doing so, we can build and empower the development of essential life skills needed to manage stress, anger, loneliness, and peer pressure without the use of alcohol. Additionally, it is important to be aware and talk about the short-term and long-term health problems that can negatively impact already existing mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression when alcohol use is consumed.

Throughout the month of April, check out our weekly “Choose Knowledge” posts, which will contain information on how to get the conversations started and where and how to access treatment and support. Follow SAFE Project on social media for additional information and resources.

Additional Resources & Assistance

For more information about SAFE Choices, contact
Senior Director Ronna Yablonski at: choices@safeproject.us

SAFE Treatment Locator
Quickly find a treatment facility that matches your needs or the needs of a loved one in an easy, anonymous, and non-invasive way!
Technical Assistance
Our Technical Assistance consists of specialized services, information sharing, skill development, training, program assessment and implementation, as well as capacity building.