The Evansville High School BASE Youth Coalition (formerly SADD) accomplishes this by creating, equipping, and sustaining a student-led in the high school that focuses on peer-to-peer education. SADD fosters a sense of belonging and promotes resiliency, leadership and advocacy skills so that young people make positive life decisions.
Throughout the year, Building A Safer Evansville and the BASE Youth Coalition work closely together to promote a healthy lifestyle and prevent destructive decisions among youth. Together we can all make a difference in our community and help teens make the right decisions throughout high school.
Since 2012 BASE student volunteers have donated over 3,400 hours to empower the students in their school to sustain the impact of healthier, safer life choices.
In 2020, the BYC began working with the FACT Movement to prevent youth tobacco use.
To learn more about youth prevention efforts, click the links below!
SADD Conference
The 2014 SADD National Conference was attended by youth from over more than 30 states. It featured dynamic keynote speakers, learning valuable skills from knowledgable workshop presenters, advocating for teen traffic safety on Capitol Hill, and having lots of fun! Sandi Spanton-Nelson, Aliye Gallagher, and Courtney Bergsma attended the conference and helped to implement ideas into the EHS SADD program.
pHARMING Effects Training
BASE youth members Aliye Gallagher and Courtney Bergsma attended the pHARMING Effects Training in Lake Forrest, Illinois hosted by LEAD. At this training, teen take relevant and accurate information and design a presentation; then use the presentation to educate other young people. This is a great example of effective youth-led prevention.
At the training, youth learned:
- A definition of prescription drug abuse and misuse
- The insidious nature of addition
- The impact of prescription drug marketing as well as tips on how to think critically about this advertising
- Relevant statistics and strategies for teens to initiate change in their homes, schools and communities
- How to bring all of this information back to their community with fun and relevant skits and games to use with their peers
Operation Click
It Can Wait
The EHS SADD group had an assembly where they informed students about the dangers of texting and driving. After the assembly, EHS students and staff signed the It Can Wait pledge, promising that they would not text and drive.