WHAT IS SUMMIT COUNTY YOUTH TO YOUTH?

“Summit County Y2Y is a diverse group of youth creating change through educating and promoting healthy and drug-free decision making while providing a welcoming  and accepting environment.” - Mission Statement formed collaboratively by the 2022-2023 Summit County Youth to Youth staff.

Summit County Youth to Youth (Y2Y), formerly Project PANDA, is Summit County's longest running youth-led, adult guided prevention program. Our primary focus is empowering young people to make healthy decisions with regard to substance use, mental health, gambling, relationships, and violence through youth-centered approaches.

WHAT WE DO

We strive to empower young people to make positive life choices by giving information that is relevant and presented in a way that makes sense to young people. We also train teens to continue this work on a peer-to-peer level.

"I HAVE SUMMIT COUNTY Y2Y TO THANK FOR A LOT OF THE SUCCESS I'VE HAD IN LIFE. THE SKILLS I LEARNED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM PREPARED ME FOR MANY SITUATIONS I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH IN LIFE"
-FORMER YOUTH STAFF AND PARTICIPANT

WHY WE DO IT

The success of young people is extremely vital to the success of our society. Teens are dealing with a lot of different influences and pressures that are difficult for adults to understand and discuss. Who knows teens better than other teens? Youth-led prevention taps into the power of peer-to-peer influence and uses it for good in hopes that this work will improve our community for all of us.

"I THINK EVERY SCHOOL SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO HAVE A SUMMIT COUNTY Y2Y PROGRAM"
​-SCHOOL GUIDANCE COUNSELOR

Summit County Y2Y has been working with Summit County young people for over 25 years. Our programs are modeled after the Youth to Youth International organization located in Columbus, Ohio. Our staff has received training and participated in joint activities with Youth to Youth International and we are proud to use their proven model to have a positive impact on our community.

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