Healthy Gen has been a proud partner and supporter of Prevention Policy Day for the last three years. Prevention Policy Day is organized and hosted by the Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention (WASAVP) and Thurston Together. Prevention Policy Day hosts youth and youth advisors from around the state at our state’s capital to talk about the importance of prevention in their communities and schools with their state legislators.

It is an exciting and vibrant day, in which youth from different regions are able to meet and learn about advocacy and prevention issues together. For many of the youth it is their first visit to the capital, and the first time they have been able to speak to state legislators and policymakers. Working together with WASAVP, Thurston Together, Olympic ESD #114, ESD #112, the King County Marijuana Advocacy Project, and the participants themselves, Healthy Gen values our ability to support a platform that provides youth opportunity to tell their stories and realize the power of their voices to educate and influence agency and elected officials on the realities of policies that impact their lives. We believe that shifting power to communities includes creating opportunities for youth to participate in and impact the legislative process by realizing and acting on their own inherent power.

The Prevention Policy Day video we developed in partnership with the youth featured, shows the youth in action — talking to their legislators, testifying before a key committee on legislation, and speaking about their experiences as young advocates for prevention and public health. A huge thank you to all the youth and adult advisors featured, and special thanks to Hannah Stewart and the Davis High School Prevention Club!