I want to ask you something.
Think about a young person in your life – a kid, a niece or nephew, a neighbor, a student. Someone you care about.
Now ask yourself: Does that young person know they can come to you? Not just for the easy stuff. For the hard stuff.
That question is what National Prevention Week means to me this year.
We spend a lot of time talking about addiction as a crisis. The statistics, the policy debates, the systems that are failing. All of that matters. But here’s what the research keeps telling us, and what I’ve seen firsthand in nearly 30 years of working with young people: the most powerful protective factor in a young person’s life isn’t a program or a policy. It’s a person.
A caring adult who shows up. Who asks questions and actually listens. Who doesn’t panic when things get complicated.
That can be you. It doesn’t require a degree or a title.
What it requires is presence. And the willingness to have real conversations before there’s a reason to have them.
This week, I’m challenging myself – and I’d love to challenge you – to do one simple thing: reach out to a young person you care about. Ask how they’re really doing. Put the phone down and be present.
At Partnership to End Addiction, everything we build – every resource, every tool, every bit of coaching and advice – is designed to support that moment. The moment when a caring adult shows up. Because when they do, kids are more likely to ask for help when they need it, less likely to turn to substances or other harmful or risky behaviors (e.g., gambling, cyberbullying) to cope, and more likely to thrive.
It really is that human. And that powerful.
Happy National Prevention Week. Go connect with someone.
Creighton Drury
CEO, Partnership to End Addiction