Programs & Services

Sobering Facts

  • Alcohol is the #1 substance abused by teens in Sacramento.
  • 12 years old is the average age a child takes his/her first drink.
  • Alcohol is the leading cause of death among persons age 10 to 24 years old.
  • Marijuana today is five times stronger than in the 1970's.
  • Nearly 60 percent of high school seniors have used drugs.

Interesting Statistics supporting the need for our programs

Youth Services with PROAS, SRO and PROMotion

  • More than half of teens say they would not watch so much TV or play video games if they had other things to do after school. -Penn, Shoen & Berland Associates. (2001). Telephone interviews with a national sample of 500 teen, 14-17 years of age. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.ymca.net/pdf/executive Summary.PDF.
  • "A child who reaches age 21 without smoking, abusing alcohol, or using drugs is virtually certain never to do so." -National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
  • In California, the percentage of dropouts among the population of mentored youth is half that in the general population of youth, and the rate of drug use is less than half of what is reported in the statewide student survey. -California Mentor Foundation Survey, 1999
  • Youth involved in mentoring relationships cite improvements in their relationships with others. In one recent study, about half of the youth reported that their mentors helped them get along better with teachers in school and half felt that mentors had helped them improve relationships with their parents or friends. -Herrera, Vang, and Gale, 2002

Intervention Services with counseling

  • Research indicates that adolescents who abuse alcohol may remember 10% less of what they have learned than those who don't drink. -Brown SA, Tapert SF, Granholm E, et al. 2000. Neurocognitive functioning of adolescents: Effects of protracted alcohol use. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 24(2):164-171.
  • High school students who use alcohol or other drugs frequently are up to five times more likely than other students to drop out of school. -The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. 2001. Malignant Neglect: Substance Abuse and America's Schools. New York: Columbia University.

Family Strengthening and Parenting

  • Parents who involve youth in their own use or misuse of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs also increase the youth's chances of using earlier than other children. Involvement may include giving a child a "sip" or asking your teen to get you a beer or light a cigarette for you. -Hansen, W.B., Graham, J.W., Sobel, J.L., Shelton, D.R., Flay, B.R., & Johnson, C.A. (1987). The consistency of peer and parent influences on tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among young adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10, 559-579; Brook, J.S., Brook, D.W., Gordon, A.S., Whiteman, M., & Cohen, P. (1990). The psychosocial etiology of adolescent drug use. A family intersectional approach. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 116(2); Jackson, C., Henriksen, L., Dickinson, D., & Levine, D.W. (1997). The early use of alcohol and tobacco: Its relation to children's competence and parents' behavior. American Journal of Public Health, 87(3/March), 359-364.
  • High school teens whose parents communicate with them about key life transitions are more likely to honestly report what they are doing and with whom they are spending time with (96% vs. 77%), are more likely to be influenced by their parents not to drink (87% vs. 53%) and are more likely to be influenced by their parents to not use drugs (91% vs. 69%).-SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual. (2005). Teens Today 2005.