Register FREE for the Annual Prevention Summit on February 21, 2023

 

InnerAct Alliance, along with event co-sponsors the Drug Free America Foundation, StandUP Polk, and UthMpact, are proud to present the Annual Own The Upside Prevention Summit on Tuesday, February 21st from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the W. H. Stuart Conference Center in Bartow. This will be the first in-person summit held since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event will provide timely overviews of important prevention issues facing our community. Dr. Dennis Embry from PAX-The Good Behavior Game, a foremost expert in the science behind prevention and behavioral health, will be a special guest speaker at the Summit. InnerAct Alliance prevention specialists teach PAX, a successful environmental intervention proven to increase academic success, improve mental health outcomes, and prevent risky behaviors, to students in several local elementary schools. Dr. Embry will host a meet and greet following the Summit from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. His biography is attached.         

The Annual Prevention Summit presents an opportunity for Teachers, School Resource Officers, Administrators, Counselors, Social Workers, Psychiatrists, and Prevention Specialists to gain up-to-date information with a realistic view of youth culture, emerging trends, social media and its connection to risky behaviors, and other topical issues.

Admission is FREE for those who pre-register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/own-the-upside-prevention-summit-tickets-536074943587 Breakfast and lunch are included.

Own The Upside was initiated by the Drug Free Coalition partnership of Hardee, Highlands, and Polk counties, Florida. It was founded on the Positive Community Norms Theory. Science shows us that the discouraging news we often hear in media and society may tend to make us forget that there are encouraging positives to celebrate what we refer to as the “Upside.” Data collected annually via the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS) reports that most kids don’t engage in risky behaviors. Attitudes about abuse are shaped well before children reach adulthood. Own The Upside believes we can impact children’s lives now by supporting and investing in prevention programs and services that reduce access, identify risky behaviors, change community attitudes towards alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, and empower youth to make positive healthy choices. While this training will educate the public about some of the negative trends, we will also remind those on the front line that MOST are making the right decisions. Please join us on February 21st to be better informed!