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Youth Turning Adversity Into Action

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What is YOUTH-Turn?

• YOUTH-Turn is an online tool available through National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) and sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

• It is a resource totally focused on helping teens and community members turn adversity into educational and constructive opportunities that may prevent similar tragedies from happening

to someone else. 

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Adversity into Action

• How can youth turn adversity into action?– Create activities and programs that are:

• Educational: spread the awareness about the cause and provide solutions on how to prevent the tragedy from happening again.

• Sustainable: create activities that are lasting and can be implemented again and again.

• Memorable: Be creative and make activities unique.• Engaging: create activities that invite peers and

community members to participate.

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Creating Change

• As you plan events/activities, focus on bringing the community together, and allow each person to contribute in a special way.

• YOUTH-Turn provides these resources to help teens create change:– Developing an Action Plan– Project Ideas– Connecting with Others– Promoting Your Project

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Taking Action

YOUTH-Turn ActivitiesSchool Assembly/Town Hall Meeting

Remembrance Tree

Website/FaceBook Page

Candlelight Vigil

Deliver a Speech

Awareness Materials/Accessories

Pledge Campaign

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YOUTH-Turn Toolkit

– Developing a Team– Tips for Teens Working

with Adults– Tips for Adults Working

with Teens– Planning Activities – Press Releases

– Earned Media– Letter to the Editor– Project Planning Guide– Presentation Guide– Media Worksheet– Media Action Plan– Media Advisory

• YOUTH-Turn provides many online and printable resources, including:

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Coping With Tragedies

• When a terrible event happens in a community, people are devastated, angry, hurt, shocked, and confused.  And, they want to know why it had to happen, how they should feel, and what they should do. YOUTH-Turn provides these resources to help with the coping process:– Understanding Emotions– How You Can Help Yourself and Support Others– Tips for Tributes, Memorials, and Anniversaries of Tragedies– Where to Turn for Help– Working with the Media

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YOUTH-Turn Featured Stories

• YOUTH-Turn also shares many featured stories of teens and/or their families who took an adversity in their community and turned it into educational action.

• You can check out the stories and

even submit one of your own!

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YOUTH-Turn Information Categories

• YOUTH-Turn provides statistics, resources, and project ideas related to these categories:

– Seat Belt Use

– Underage Drinking

– Passenger Restrictions

– Nighttime Driving Restrictions

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YOUTH-Turn It Around Award

• National Organizations for Youth Safety and Casey Feldman Memorial Foundation have teamed up with National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to create a contest for youth to take a turn adversity into action.

• Youth can create an educational and sustainable project to help prevent the tragedy from happening again by:– Utilizing YOUTH-Turn resources– Sending project proposal to YOUTH-Turn– Implementing project in May 2011 for National Youth Traffic

Safety Month

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YOUTH-Turn

• Be prepared to take action to turn adversity into education.

• Help those who are grieving.• Prevent the tragedy from happening again.

YOUTH-Turn:

Helping Teens Turn Adversity into Action

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Support YOUTH-Turn

• YOUTH-Turn is seeking sponsors/underwriters for the following categories:

– Suicide Prevention

– Violence Prevention

– Substance Abuse Prevention

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NOYS is a national nonprofit coalition that focuses on youth health and safety.

• NOYS Coalition includes over 60 youth-led or youth-serving national nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and business and industry leaders

National organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS)