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    “Thrive” – Cal Guard's Drug Demand Reduction Outreach team partners with Sunburst Youth Academy to teach teen resiliency program

    LOS ALAMITOS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES

    08.07.2023

    Story by Tech. Sgt. S L 

    California National Guard Primary   

    Los Alamitos, CALIF. - California National Guard's Drug Demand Reduction Outreach team of Southern California partnered with Sunburst Youth Academy at the end of the 2022-2023 school year to teach THRIVE Resilience Program for Teens, Joint Base Los Alamitos.

    THRIVE is an evidence-based program to educate students on risk and protective factors. The program was developed by Arizona-based Ted Huntington and is taught in schools across the United States.

    Cal Guard's DDRO team is comprised of citizen Soldiers and Airmen who have mastered resiliency training and have partnered with Sunburst Youth Academy over the last two years to facilitate leadership, effective communication, active accountability, and other critical life skills.

    "Unfortunately, a lot of us are born into a family that already embodies many of the things we want to get away from, " said Staff Sgt. Fernando Lopeziniguez, DDRO civil operator and THRIVE facilitator based in Los Angeles. "So responding well to these pressures is ultimately the best lesson the students can learn."

    The Cal Guard's DDRO team has collaborated with several schools and community-based organizations over the last year, teaching substance-use prevention education and highlighting the opportunities that can arise when staying on the right path.

    Once the cadets completed the THRIVE curriculum, they were commemorated with a resiliency training graduation hosted by Staff Sgt. Lopez.

    As a thank you, Sunburst Youth Academy leadership extended a formal invitation to the drug prevention team to attend the Class-32's official end of session graduation ceremony, which concluded the cadet's 6 months of training.

    Cal Guard's highly-trained DDRO facilitators have reached over 128,000 students in 2022 and continue to spread their inspiring messages of resiliency throughout the state.

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.07.2023
    Date Posted: 08.08.2023 12:12
    Story ID: 450886
    Location: LOS ALAMITOS, CALIFORNIA, US

    Web Views: 24
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN