LICADD Launches New Youth Advisory Board
March 2, 2010- The Long Island Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, Inc (LICADD) is pleased to announce the launch of a new Youth Advisory Board (YAB). YAB brings together young people of diverse backgrounds from across Long Island to share their experiences, opinions and insights with the agency’s Board of Directors, management team and staff responsible for prevention education, community outreach and adolescent services. Guided by their unique experiences and peer relationships, members of the YAB not only provide feedback on LICADD’s programs, printed materials, website and outreach strategies, but also generate new ideas on how to make drug-free and alcohol-free living the norm, rather than the exception.
Membership on LICADD’s YAB is open to young people ages 15-21 and a desire to make a difference is a must. “We need young people to assist with outreach and engagement to combat substance use among young people. Peer-to-peer education is an effective means of informing people where to get help for drug and alcohol issues” says Clinical Director Steven Chassman, LMSW. LICADD Executive Director Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds concurred, “We are thrilled that a number of young people in recovery have agreed to share their experience, strength and hope with us as we work to combat Long Island’s heroin crisis.” The group will meet bi-monthly and alternate between LICADD’s Nassau and Suffolk County locations. The first meeting will be held on Monday, March 15, 2010 from 6:00PM-7:30PM in LICADD’s Ronkonkoma offices located 2805 Veteran’s Memorial Highway, Suite 26. An RSVP is requested, but not mandatory.
LICADD is aggressively helping families find effective addiction treatment and remains Long Island’s only non-profit agency conducting planned family interventions. LICADD provides expert evaluation and early intervention services to individuals, children and families impacted by substance abuse, and spearheads evidence-based prevention education programs in a variety of settings. LICADD encourages you to find more about these issues and ways to fight addiction in our families and communities by visiting their site on the web at www.licadd.org.
