Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Substances
Alcohol, tobacco and other substances have deeply impacted the health and wellbeing of our communities. At yli, we take a social justice lens to the work, combating the racist āwar on drugsā mindset that criminalizes individual behaviors and shifting the focus to predatory corporations that target young, low-income people of color.
Through this strategy, youth launch campaigns that address the number of liquor stores in their neighborhoods and their proximity to schools, harmful messages in advertising, flavored tobacco, and smoking policies in multi-unit housing. They also work to counter harmful messaging by creating resources and storytelling campaigns that dismantle the media-driven myth that most youth are using substances, and provide healthy alternatives to substance use.