The CMCA model — which focuses on the environments that encourage risky behavior — emphasizes authentic youth-adult partnerships, and sets the stage for a cascade of positive community-wide outcomes that do far more than deter individual youths from substance abuse.
By actively involving young people in assessing and addressing substance abuse in their communities, the model develops the confidence, knowledge, and skills young people need to advocate on behalf of their communities for a lifetime. What’s more, the policies they enact alongside their adult allies create positive changes that reduce substance abuse throughout their communities.
