Building Stronger Communities: A Fresh Take on Youth Substance Use Prevention in Solano County

When we look at the young people in our Solano County communities, we see incredible potential. We also see challenges that deserve our attention and our best thinking. Recent data from the California Healthy Kids Survey tells us that our local youth are using alcohol, cannabis, and vaping products at rates higher than the state average. But behind these numbers are stories of young people navigating a complex world—searching for connection, identity, and belonging in ways that sometimes lead them toward risk.

At Archway Recovery Services, we've walked alongside individuals and families affected by substance use for decades. We've learned that prevention isn't just about saying "no"—it's about creating compelling reasons to say "yes" to healthier choices. That's why we're excited to share our new Substance Use Disorder Prevention Program (ARS-SUDP): a prevention approach designed for how today's youth actually live, connect, and find meaning.

Understanding Today's Prevention Landscape

Traditional prevention often relies on information-sharing—facts, statistics, and warnings. While education matters, we know that young people rarely make decisions based on information alone. They're influenced by their peers, the culture around them, their sense of identity, and the environments they navigate daily.

Here's what we're seeing in Solano County:

• Our 11th graders are using alcohol and cannabis at higher rates than their peers statewide

• Nearly one in three high school students has tried vaping nicotine or cannabis

• Less than half of our 9th and 11th graders feel truly connected to their school communities

• Many young people report having limited adult support beyond their immediate families

These patterns tell us something important: Disconnection and low belonging are significant risk factors. When young people don't feel they have a meaningful place in their community, they're more likely to seek connection in harmful ways.

Add to this the reality that smartphones shape nearly every aspect of youth culture. Research increasingly shows links between problematic phone use and anxiety, depression, and substance use. Our young people are growing up in a media-rich environment that constantly influences their understanding of what's normal and desirable.

Effective prevention must offer young people something they actually want to be part of—a sense of belonging, a message they can believe in, and a community they're excited to join.

A Prevention Approach That Feels Like Community, Not Classroom

ARS-SUDP is built around a simple but powerful idea: Young people change when they feel part of something meaningful and positive.

At the heart of our program is a professional youth-focused band, talented musicians, some with lived experience of recovery, who serve as prevention messengers. This isn't just entertainment; it's a carefully designed prevention strategy that creates shared experiences and reaches young people where they are emotionally and culturally.

Here's how the band functions as a prevention catalyst:

1. Creating Shared Experiences

Twelve concerts throughout the year bring youth together in schools, community centers, and local festivals. These aren't typical "prevention presentations". They are genuine community events designed to strengthen connections, celebrate resilience, and present healthy living as something vibrant and appealing.

2. Building Youth Leadership

Each concert serves as an invitation to join Youth Leadership Groups. Here, young people develop skills in advocacy, emotional wellness, public speaking, and peer education. Research consistently shows that peer-led prevention is the most effective approach. Young people listen to other young people.

3. Creating Authentic Prevention Media

Every concert generates content: music, stories, youth interactions, that we transform into prevention messaging designed for social media platforms. These authentic, youth-created videos for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube allow our prevention message to live where young people already spend their time.

4. Celebrating Positive Identity

Too often, substance use becomes associated with being "cool" or "hip." ARS-SUDP flips this narrative by creating visible, celebratory expressions of creativity, resilience, and community connection. Prevention becomes not just about what to avoid, but about a positive identity young people can embrace and share.

Why Music? Why This Approach?

Decades of research on arts-based prevention show that music has unique power to connect with people. It bypasses defenses, builds genuine connection, and creates shared emotions and memories that make prevention messages more believable and lasting.

Music also travels naturally through the digital spaces where youth culture is shaped. When combined with authentic youth voices, it becomes a powerful force for positive change.

This is prevention designed for a generation that growing up with earbuds and algorithms.

Building Something That Lasts

Many prevention programs struggle with sustainability—after the workshop ends, the impact fades. ARS-SUDP is designed differently:

• Concerts spark initial interest and connection

• Youth Leadership Groups sustain engagement over time

• Media campaigns amplify the message across platforms

• Public celebrations normalize positive choices

This creates a cycle of engagement that can grow stronger each year. This becomes a genuine prevention movement led by young people, not imposed by adults.

Measuring What Matters

ARS-SUDP is committed to demonstrating real impact. Using SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework, we track:

·       Reach: How many youth engage with our concerts and media

·       Engagement: How many join our leadership programs and stay involved

·       Impact: How do attitudes, social norms, and protective factors change over time

This data-driven approach ensures we're accountable to our community and continuously improving our effectiveness.

Partnership at the Heart of Prevention

ARS-SUDP works hand-in-hand with:

• Local schools and educators

• County health and social services

• Youth-serving organizations

• Faith communitiesJuvenile justice and diversion programs

Prevention works best when young people encounter consistent, positive messages across all the places they live, learn, and spend time. Our goal isn't to create an isolated program. It's to help build community-wide infrastructure that supports healthy choices for all our youth.

Looking Ahead with Hope

The young people in Solano County deserve prevention strategies that understand their world, respect their culture, and communicate in ways that feel genuine and relevant. They deserve approaches that offer them something positive to move toward, not just risks to move away from.

The ARS-SUDP Prevention Program represents our commitment to evidence-based prevention: shared experiences, peer leadership, authentic media, and a community identity rooted in resilience and connection.

We believe Solano County's youth deserve prevention that's as dynamic and compelling as they are. We're honored to contribute to this vision and excited about the partnerships and positive change ahead.

Together, we can create communities where every young person feels they belong, where healthy choices feel natural and celebrated, and where prevention isn't something that happens to youth. It is something they lead.