empowerYOUTH! building resiliency one voice at a time
Eight communities, filled with youth who see, feel, experience, and have something to say, and we’re listening.
EmpowerYOUTH! is an initiative of the Makin’ it Happen Coalition(MIH) whose goal is to bring Greater Manchester Youth concerns, ideas and passion to the prevention conversation. Working locally, thinking regional, and beyond, the youth come together to share, listen, learn and discuss issues and challenges within their school community. Collectively they identify prevention solutions that they can put into action.
Makin’ it Happen works to secure learning opportunities for the youth and develop partnerships with our core community sectors (Business, Education, Government, Safety/Law Enforcement and Community and Family Supports) with a goal of expanding support to our EmpowerYOUTH! Initiative. In addition, MIH is actively engaged with our state partners to ensure learning, advocacy and strength-based opportunities are brought to the youth of the region.
In March of 2017, MIH partnered with the DEA360 to host a Youth Opioid Summit at the the SNHU Arena. Over 8500 students and their advisors showed up to listen to inspiring stories and messages from dignitaries from local to national. Celebrities; actors and actresses, sports legends all shared their inspiring messages to this packed arena. Jim Wahlberg of the Wahlberg Youth Foundation was on hand and showed a video to the students entitled ‘If Only’. After listening and watching this very moving video, the lights came up and on stage were families holding pictures of loved ones they have lost to the opioid crisis. Of all the events of the day, this one visual, empowered youth from across the region to connect with Makin’ it Happen to say “What can we do? How can we make a difference?”. All the emotion and energy from that event ignited EmpowerYOUTH!
Check out what our empowerYOUTH! students are doing!
CADCA-Atlanta 2017 Group photo
EmpowerYouth representing the 603 at the CADCA National Youth Leadership Training in Atlanta
what’s happening in Goffstown
Goffstown HS EmpowerYouth discussing how their efforts are making a difference in their community
on the Wmur set
Working with our partners at WMUR to create a PSA and a little time for a selfie with our favorite weather man
MCPHS Students -Naloxone overview
Learning about Naloxone from our partners and PA students at Mass College of Pharmacy and Health Service College
interview with Chief Willard
Manchester’s Police Chief Willard sitting down with EmpowerYouth students to discuss their concerns
interview with wmur
EmpowerYouth expressing to the media the importance of adding youth voice to the solution
BIG thank you to our sponsors
thank you to Dartmouth Hitchcock, Crispin’s House and Reed’s Ferry Lumber for helping to fund our trip to Atlanta
Interview by NPR Journalist
Empower Youth Ambassadors discussing their work and the value of the NH Charitable Foundation’s funding.
Empower Youth Ambassadors creating a DEA Take Back PSA
Working with our partners WMUR and AMR to create a PSA to encourage participation in the DEA Take Back
OTC Medicine Safety Presentations
Bedford High School Empower Youth ambassadors presented over the counter medicine safety to all of Bedford’s 5th and 6th grade students.
Goffstown discussion about youth empowerment
School officials and police chief interviewed with WMUR.
Feed them and they will come!
Thank you to our supporters Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and to the Puritan Backroom for snacks, materials and the ever popular chicken tenders for our OTC/E-Cigarette training!
NNEPC Laurie Warnock Presenter
NNEPC Laurie Warnock presenting OTC Medicine Safety/ E-cigarette and vaping training to GM students
OTC Medicine Safety/e-cig/vaping training
3 middle schools and 5 high schools from Greater Manchester participated in this training =over 75 students! This group is truly MAKIN’ IT HAPPEN!