By Nicole Alberg

My life changed eight months when I started working for the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council’s Prevention Center (GSSAC); a non-profit organization dedicated to changing lives and striving together toward a safe community; drug and alcohol free. Coming from a family of alcoholism myself - both of my parents have an extreme drinking problem – I know how drinking can tear a family apart. But working with GSSAC enabled me to see I wasn’t alone, and, more importantly, help kids like myself.

Imagine what it feels like to hear a 16 year old say, “You’ve opened our eyes and made us realize that we all have a second chance, we may not be so lucky next time;” or a 15 year old says, “I have now seen the repercussions of drinking and not thinking. I have learned what alcohol does to our bodies, minds and our families. I will keep thoughts of this class in my mind when I am tempted to use any drug.” It’s amazing! And you begin to realize not only how important it is to be able to make a difference in someone else’s life, but that even as a young person, you can.

I am 18 years old, the youngest person in the office by 12 years, yet as a Youth Advocate, I help educate and advocate alternatives to substance abuse. Because I relate better to people my own age, I help facilitate the Minors in Prevention program, which is directed at troubled youth, and tries to get them back on the right track. I give tours of the morgue, our county jail and local hospitals, emphasizing the consequences of misuse of drugs and alcohol. Additionally, my commitment enables me to speak with hundreds of people at public awareness events and I also help to recruit new members for the programs the GSSAC offers.

Prevention Youth Partnership (PYP) is a peer educational group that plans ways to assist the community. This group creates awareness by sponsoring youth activities like painting over graffiti. We coordinate citywide teen dances and tape public service announcements for TV. This organization has become really well known and we’re constantly growing – both quantitatively and qualitatively. Another voluntary group we administrate is Washington Drug Free Youth. Here, local vendors work with us by offering discounts at stores, restaurants, etc. positively helping the kids in Spokane who have chosen to be drug free.

My job is amazing. What more could a teen want than to change his/her community for the better with all the benefits? This job has allowed me to read personalized achievement letters from President Bush at youth facilitated summits and I have participated as a panel moderator for selected policy makers in Spokane. Articles about the success of our organization have appeared in the newspapers, on TV and the radio.

While our success motivates me to do more, I am still very aware of just how large the substance abuse problem is for millions of youth out there who are suffering and are unable to do anything about it. Life brings heavy tides and many drown. I changed and overcame rough waters. And so can others. Teens struggling with problems must know one very important thing: you are not alone.