Prevention doesn't reach everyone.
Safety has to.
YDPA’s purpose is to secure protections and rights for minors in terms of drug usage. Rather than focusing on prevention, YDPA is committed to safety for youth who use drugs.
41%
of students grades 9-12 in OUSD report lifetime alcohol or drug use.
5.8%
of students grades 9-12 in OUSD report lifetime recreational opioid use.
Source: 2019–20 California Healthy Kids Survey, Oakland Unified School District, Table A6.1
Protection v. Prevention
Many students will use substances regardless of what they're told in a classroom. The Youth Drug Protection Alliance exists for the gap that leaves: if a student is going to use, they deserve the potentially life-saving resources to do so.
That means free testing strips. It means naloxone that doesn't require a pharmacy visit or an awkward conversation. It means treating safety as something every student is entitled to — not a reward for admitting they need it.
Stigma reduction
Stigma is a huge barrier to harm reduction and in high school as a whole. If a student feels embarrassed or afraid to ask for testing supplies, they may skip testing and grabbing naloxone altogether.
Our distribution program attempts to reduce stigma surrounding drug safety. By distributing safety resources and educational material to every high schooler in a participating school, no student needs to worry about where to obtain resources or the judgement they may face for doing so.
See what this looks like in practice
The Ambassador Program, resource distribution, and what's coming next.