On March 21, 2025, more than 250 sixth graders from Cowlitz County public schools gathered at the Longview First Baptist Church for the annual Youth Leadership and Prevention Summit, a full-day conference designed to build leadership skills, confidence, and promote the importance of healthy behaviors.

This year’s theme, “Find Your Good: Lifesaving Leadership,” was woven into various workshops, covering topics such as drug education and prevention, mental health, and leadership. Students were encouraged to work with their Student Assistance Professionals (SAPs), counselors, and teachers to create positive change–whether big or small–in their classrooms. They also learned strategies to educate and support their peers on these important topics.

“Being a student leader means being kind and respecting one another,” said Maverick from Huntington Middle School. “This event builds up student leaders because they can learn how to be kind.”

Keynote speaker Jake White from Vive18

Keynote speaker Jake White from Vive18 speaks to the student attendees

This year’s keynote speaker was Jake White from Vive18, a national drug prevention platform that provides engaging education and programming to save student lives and create a safer school environment. He encouraged Cowlitz County youth to think about the impact of their choices, expressing that their leadership has the power to save lives. White has spoken to tens of thousands of high school and college students and has been featured on USA Today and ABC News.

Students play a vital role in the event, both as participants and organizers. In 2022, when large gatherings were limited due to COVID-19, Castle Rock Middle School students planned and implemented a smaller summit for Castle Rock and Toutle Lake students and additional events at interested schools. In the following years, students helped plan the regional summit, led workshops, emceed, and were an integral part of the event setup.

The youth summit was sponsored by Community Prevention Wellness Initiative (CPWI) Coalitions, a collaboration between Hilander HOPE (Kelso), EPIC (Longview), and CARE (Castle Rock) Coalitions. All three coalitions are funded by the Washington State Health Care Authority.

“The summit aims to empower students to realize their potential and voice in leadership,” said Lindsey Worley, who has been involved with the CARE Coalition for over 20 years. “We want to guide students to recognize their strengths and confidence to become school and community leaders.”

During the summit, ESD 112’s Prevent Coalition hosted a training for prevention professionals who work directly with students to foster safe school environments. The training, “From Fun to Framework: How to Create Sustainable, Substance Free Youth Movements,” engaged participants in creating sustainable, student-led prevention clubs and explored ways to empower student advocacy and strengthen prevention efforts in schools and the community.

The Cowlitz County Youth Leadership and Prevention Summit has been a cornerstone event for this community since 2003 when the Cowlitz Substance Abuse Coalition (CSAC) and the Cowlitz Meth Action Team coordinated the first summit. The event was funded by CSAC’s Drug-Free Communities Grant and received support from local agencies and faith-based communities, providing space, time, and supplies. The summit was created to bring together youth, empowering them to create change and become leaders in their community–a goal that continues to guide the event today.

The summit’s success would not have been possible without the support of this year’s community partners:

Community Prevention Wellness Initiative’s goal is to support proven strategies that will have a long-term, positive impact on youth and families. CPWI is being implemented through active partnerships with counties, Educational Service Districts (ESDs), local school districts, and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Learn more and see CPWI community locations in the CPWI handout.