Two Angelina County High School Students Attend Advocacy Day

Advocacy Day was recently held in Austin, and two Angelina County youths serving on the Youth Leadership Council for Texans for Safe & Drug-Free Youth attended the event.

Texans for Safe & Drug-Free Youth is the statewide coalition focused on alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana prevention for youth, and its Youth Leadership Council members work closely with local coalitions to create community change for youth prevention.

Cameron Headly, a student at Central High School, and Savanna Soverns, a student at Pineywoods Community Academy High School, received information on a range of topics specific to youth prevention: restricting alcohol access, cannabis derived products, and tobacco prevention policies.

Texans for Safe & Drug-Free Youth trained on how to talk to elected officials regarding these topics and helped the youth role-play different scenarios. In the afternoon, the students went to the Texas Capitol and met with Representative Trent Ashby and the staff of Senator Robert Nichols.

The students shared what they learned about the dangers of substance use by youth, prevention measures to implement to reduce access, and ways to prevent youth tobacco use, including additional funding for prevention.

The Coalition, based in Angelina County, has focused on eliminating the use of harmful substances by affecting public policy, laws, attitudes, and behaviors, all to foster healthy life-long choices for the local community.

Contributed Photo/The Coalition

Angelina County Youth Leadership Council members with Representative Trent Ashby.

From left: Savanna Soverns, Pineywoods Community Academy; Rep. Trent Ashby; and Cameron Headly, Central High School.