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Gracie Hendrickson, a\u00a016-year-old\u00a0youth\u00a0leader in Harvey County\u2019s STAND program<\/strong>, recently won the title of Miss Kansas Outstanding Teen on the platform of\u00a0\u201ciSTAND\u00a0\u2013 Teens Against Drug Abuse.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Gracie\u2019s platform\u00a0name\u00a0was inspired by\u00a0the coalition based in her hometown of Kansas.\u00a0\u201cSTAND is my roots. It was the first time I got involved with drug prevention, so I really wanted to incorporate their messaging with everything that I\u2019m doing.\u00a0They\u2019re one of my biggest partners.\u00a0Being able\u00a0to incorporate STAND, not only as an organization, but also\u00a0the word \u2018STAND\u2019 as a message, holds a lot of meaning. To me,\u00a0standing is bold.\u00a0It\u2019s standing up for what you believe. It\u2019s not just\u00a0a\u00a0word, there\u2019s this whole message behind it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Grace became interested in prevention after\u00a0losing a family member due to substance use disorder. \u201cI\u00a0thought, \u2018This is a problem and I\u2019m going to do something about it.\u2019 My brother was\u00a0involved\u00a0with\u00a0the STAND organization before me, so I\u00a0was able to\u00a0learn about\u00a0the program through\u00a0him.\u00a0I found\u00a0it was exactly the impact that I was looking to make. I joined freshman year and got to be on the Board. It\u2019s been such an amazing experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the first things I\u00a0got to participate in was\u00a0Drug Take Back Day, where we were able to collect over a hundred pounds of opioids around Harvey County.\u00a0The Opioid Epidemic has taken a huge toll, especially here in my town in Newton. So,\u00a0that\u00a0was a great way\u00a0to get started\u00a0with\u00a0the program.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve also been able to do quite a bit of speaking through STAND. I\u00a0truly believe in\u00a0prevention through education.\u00a0Right now, substance misuse is not talked about as much as it should be. Not in schools, not in our homes, but it\u2019s something that needs to be brought to light. We need to talk about it more\u00a0with the youth.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve also been able to help at different health fairs and community events and\u00a0speak on topics such as vaping and marijuana\u00a0use. One of the biggest things I did was in partnership with Newton Medical Center. I was able to talk about vaping\u00a0and ask\u00a0questions like, \u2018Do you know that there\u00a0are harmful things in\u00a0your\u00a0vape? Do you know what it could\u00a0cause in\u00a0long-term effects?\u2019\u00a0\u00a0Many of them had no idea, and there\u00a0were a few people who even told me that they planned to throw out their vapes when they got home that day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHearing that, there\u2019s no better feeling, because even if you can only see it as just a little thing with nicotine, it can be a gateway to an entire spectrum of drugs and an entire life of addiction that could become devastating.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n With Gracie\u2019s platform, she will continue to share her prevention message through education. One of the ways she has done this is through visiting middle schools\u00a0and speaking with students about the realities of youth substance use.\u00a0Her goal is to\u00a0eventually\u00a0reach 5,000 middle schoolers all over Kansas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many middle schoolers,\u00a0and young adults even,\u00a0that have a skewed perception of what youth drug use actually looks like.\u00a0I was able to talk to them about what teens were doing right\u00a0here\u00a0in Harvey County, and I asked them questions like, \u2018What percentage of teenagers in Harvey County do you think drink alcohol?\u2019\u00a0We gave them a spectrum of percentages and many of them picked 70 or 80%, when it\u00a0was\u00a0really 30%.\u00a0We were able to share with them that this it is not the cool thing to do, it\u2019s not what everybody is doing, and it\u2019s not good for our bodies.\u00a0It may start with one drink, but it can lead down a path to so many other things that can become so detrimental not only to your life, but to others around you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was able to tell them not only about that, but also ways that we can combat it in another light. So, we call these Art Outlets. This is something that you can do other than drugs or substances that can give you\u00a0a way to relieve stress. Since winning my title, I\u2019ve been able to partner with the national organization, Natural High,\u00a0which essentially encourages people to find their own natural high.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPartnering with them, I\u2019m going to be able to use their curriculums when I go into middle schools. Finding your own natural high is such a great concept to me because most of the time, a common theme we see with teen users is that they want to find a way to escape. Being able to show them that there are so many different things you can do to escape can be really helpful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Gracie added that her personal choice for getting a natural high is through participation in sports. \u201cEvery time I\u2019m on the court or running in a track meet, I love the feeling that it gives me,\u00a0and I know that no drug could give me that same feeling. Plus, these activities give me benefits instead of risks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n When asked why she chose to focus on speaking at middle schools, she responded,\u00a0\u201cA lot of\u00a0adults start using drugs\u00a0when they\u2019re\u00a0under the age of 18. Unfortunately, once kids get to high school, they\u2019ve likely already made that decision for themselves. Starting with middle school students, I\u2019m able to talk to them before the habit starts. I think middle school is the best age for kids who have a growing mind and might not have had this conversation with their family members or peers yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Gracie added,\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m not just an adult saying, \u2018Hey kids, don\u2019t do drugs.\u2019 I\u2019m a relatable teen and I hope to be a role model to them, and I\u00a0want to\u00a0provide\u00a0them with\u00a0other options. It\u2019s not just \u2018say no,\u2019 but\u00a0show them how\u00a0to\u00a0go\u00a0down a different path.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Until the next school year starts in the fall, Gracie must put a hold on her visits to\u00a0the\u00a0middle\u00a0schools, but she is not waiting idly\u00a0by.\u00a0\u201cRight now, I\u2019m working on starting a social media campaign, so I can share with people outside of\u00a0school. Until then, I\u2019m an advocate for prevention every single day, whether it\u2019s on social media\u00a0or in-person.\u00a0I\u2019m always trying to spread the message.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Gracie\u00a0also\u00a0started a local project that puts together \u201cFresh Start\u201d bags for individuals coming out of substance misuse treatment to help them\u00a0get\u00a0a fresh start in a new life. They are filled with essential items\u00a0such as\u00a0toiletries, food, water and\u00a0more. \u201cAnything I could do to give them a better way to lead a healthier lifestyle and to continue their recovery process, that\u2019s what I wanted. Before I went to my pageant, I made fifteen backpacks. They do cost quite a bit to fund, so since winning my title,\u00a0I\u2019ve been able to raise more money.\u00a0Now my goal\u00a0is to make 50.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Soon,\u00a0Gracie\u00a0will\u00a0be moving on to\u00a0Nationals\u00a0and competing in the Miss America Outstanding Teen pageant, where she will continue to spread her message about prevention. In the meantime, she plans to\u00a0continue her\u00a0prevention\u00a0efforts and\u00a0learn more strategies at\u00a0the CADCA Mid-Year Training institute this summer, which begins July 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n Learn more about our Youth Leadership activities during Mid-Year.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gracie Hendrickson, a\u00a016-year-old\u00a0youth\u00a0leader in Harvey County\u2019s STAND program, recently won the title of Miss Kansas Outstanding Teen on the platform<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":13310,"template":"","resource_type":[281],"drug_specific_issues":[],"action_to_do":[],"class_list":["post-17062","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-coalitions-online"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n