In southeastern Pennsylvania, Upper Bucks Healthy Communities ● Healthy Youth Coalition (UBHCHY) represents an area covered by the three school districts of Upper Bucks County-Palisades, Pennridge, and Quakertown.
One of the coalition’s major projects is the Social Norms initiative, a project aimed at changing the perceptions of teens, which began after the results from the community’s 2006 Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors survey showed that sixty-five percent of students did not use alcohol. This project, as well as a UBHCHY community education project, were recognized by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in its 2007 National Drug Control Strategy as “effective in promoting positive youth development and reducing the demand for youth to use alcohol and other drugs.”1
The Upper Bucks Student Support Card, modeled after the Alaskan Support Card developed by Derek Peterson, shows results of the bi-annual Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors survey to the community. The data is arranged in a format that is easy to use and understand, and convenient for teachers, parents, and others that work to have a positive impact on young people. 
The asset language is used throughout the card, and the Developmental Assets are clearly identified as protective factors against drug and alcohol use. The Support Cards display the data in numbers, graphs, and lists, showing not only the numbers of students that have each asset, but also how those numbers have changed since the last survey, two years earlier. The results are overwhelmingly positive, clearly showing that the number of Developmental Assets is improving in youth in Upper Bucks County.
UBHCHY also supports prevention curricula for elementary and middle schools, tobacco cessation efforts, restorative justice, and other projects focused on underage drinking, bully prevention, inclusion, and community service.
UBHCHY is coordinated by justCommunity, a local nonprofit founded by Lee Rush, its Executive Director and a Community Organizer for UBHCHY. 
Founded ten years ago, justCommunity’s mission is to provide consultation, education and training services in the areas of youth development, community mobilization, substance abuse prevention, student assistance practices, and restorative practices to schools, government agencies and other youth-serving organizations. In addition to coordinating UBHCHY, justCommunity also supports Project CARE, a key provider of Student Assistance Program (SAP) trainings for adults who work with youth and families.
For more information, visit www.justcommunity.com or contact Lee Rush at lrush@enter.net.
1 Rush, Lee. (2007, March 20). Upper Bucks Healthy Communities Healthy Youth Coalition Recognized in 2007 White House National Strategy to Reduce Substance Abuse. Press Release
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