AWARE Coalition - The City of Vacaville's Alcohol, Tobacco, and other Drug (ATOD) Coalition. AWARE is an acronym for Advocating for Wellness, Adolescent Recovery and Education. AWARE's goal is to reduce the rate of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among Vacaville youth and reduce youth access to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

 

Vacaville Police Activities League (PAL) - PAL is based on the conviction that if young people are reached early enough, they can develop strong positive attitudes towards police officers in their journey through life toward the goal of maturity and good citizenship. The PAL program brings youth under the supervision and positive influence of the Vacaville Police Department staff and expands public awareness about the role of a police officer and the reinforcement of responsible values and attitudes.

Out of the Cloud - Youth from VPAL and AWARE Coalition created and implemented an educational workshop geared towards 7-11 year-old kids. This workshop focused on making healthy choices and dealing with stress in a positive way. Kids signed a pledge to be drug free. We also hosted a bike trail clean up on 4/16/44 for Vacaville's Earth Day. Volunteers cleaned the trail while competing to see who collected the most cigarette butts. An awareness video was created after the event. The video aims to motivate others to keep their community clean by picking up after themselves. The message includes keeping tobacco products off our trails, parks, and public spaces.

Tobacco and Vaping: What's the Bottom Line - High school youth from VPAL and AWARE Coalition created a peer education workshop geared toward middle and high school youth. The workshop aimed to educate youth about the hazards of tobacco and vaping. We planned to serve a minimum of 50 youth in health classes through the 2021-22 school year. However, due to the pandemic we had to adjust the project. Rather than present in schools within the Vacaville Unified School District, our students led and recorded their workshop at the SCOE's Youth Resiliency Summit on 5/15/2021. In addition, students partnered with SCOE staff to record an informational video about the impacts, statistics, and cessation resources related to tobacco and vaping.