Youth Intervention Program
The Youth Intervention Program is a voluntary program that provides services to youth up to age 17 and families in all the towns of Cheshire County.
Department staff will assist youth and families experiencing behavioral difficulties by providing brief intervention services, including education, safety planning, and facilitating referrals to long-term supports and resources within the community.
City of Keene Youth Services Department maintains a Facebook page. It is designed to provide education on prevention and intervention resources and supports for parents and caregivers of youth residing in Keene as well as surrounding towns in Cheshire County.
Know Tobacco
- History
- Know Tobacco was created in 2020 and is a free educational program with a curriculum designed by a tobacco Cessation Counselor at Cheshire Medical Center. This Program was created to inform youth about the risks associated with tobacco use. Initially, the curriculum could be tailored to the youth’s specific method of use such as vaping, cigarettes, cigars, and/or smokeless tobacco. In 2022, the program was updated and focused on e-cigarettes and vaping, both nicotine and THC. This program has become a flexible and ever-changing program that stays current on youth use trends, popular methods of use, and cessation and wellness.
- This program is in partnership with Healthy Monadnock Alliance.
- The Program
- In a group setting, youth can honestly and confidentially engage in open dialogue with other youth and trained staff about substance use topics.
- This program is not designed to be punitive or judgmental but to inform youth about the potential consequences of their decision to engage in use.
- Participants are provided resources should they want to quit, reduce use, or learn more.
- Participation guides youth in a reflection of their tobacco use by asking such questions:
- What factors led to their decision to first try tobacco?
- What motivates them to continue to use/experiment, and can they identify safe methods to meet that need?
- What role does the media play? What myths has the media shared? What truths?
- What are the potential long-term effects on their health and well-being?
- Does tobacco use affect the likelihood of engaging in other substance use?
- How much money, time, and resources are they spending to continue the habit? Where could that be better spent?
- Can serve as:
- Alternative to suspension in middle and high schools
- Diversion to formal court proceedings for youth facing a violation due to tobacco use
- Substance use prevention
Know Cannabis
- Educational program that focuses on the risks associated with cannabis use as an adolescent by means of vaping, edibles, dabs, and smoking.
- Know Cannabis provides factual information on health harms, dispel myths, helps students understand youth use trends and learn about the harmful ingredients in cannabis products.
- The program dives into understanding the adolescent brain and how substances impact development.
- Know Cannabis is currently only being used as a prevention program for middle and high schools.
Monadnock Prevention Program
- In partnership with the Monadnock Youth Coalition
- A prevention curriculum created for schools in the Swanzey and Keene areas. It is a researched-based 3+ interactive lecture-style education series about nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis. Youth learn about use trends, health effects, and alternatives to substance use.
- Additional sessions can be added to feature a lived-experience guest speaker, refusal skills taught by local high school students, as well as parent and faculty education nights and a teen mock bedroom presentation.
Youth Mental Health First Aid
- Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.