For the past few years, several area youth serving agency representatives have been meeting to begin this approach in Martinsville and Henry County. On July 22 and 23, of 2010 this group, "Heallthy Communities, Healthy Youth Initiative of M/Co" and HEY and CHILL hosted a retreat called Generations Together to engage community leaders and members on how to make Martinsville and Henry County a place where all youth can thrive through the power. HEY has also sponsored training for all after-school programs and will host trainings for other community sectors in the future.
Contact Katie Connelly for more information at 276.340.9186

Ever feel discouraged about the conditions in our area?
Want to make a difference?

The 40 Developmental Assets are common sense, positive experiences and qualities that help influence choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible adults. Think of the positive influences as "vaccines" for your children helping to protect them from the negative influences in their development. We are preparing our youth for a changing world, not trying to fix them. We are supporting our youth to help give them the confidence and strength to make positive choices.

Because of its basis in youth development, resiliency, and prevention research and its proven effectiveness, the Developmental Assets framework has become one of the most widely used approach to positive youth development in the United States.

The Power of Assets---An Initiative is FREE to do, Worth So Much More!

Studies of more than 2.2 million young people consistently show that the more assets young people have, the less likely they are to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors and the more likely they are to thrive. Assets have power for all young people, regardless of their gender, economic status, family, or race/ethnicity, and are better predictors of high-risk involvement and thriving than poverty or being from a single-parent family.

For more information on these assets, go to www.search-institute.org