Let’s Talk: Community Dialogues About Supporting Youth to Thrive & Preventing Substance Misuse

This March our HealthyBTV work group partnered with Edmunds and Hunt middle school youth prevention groups to host two events for the community to come together over dinner and conversation to discuss challenges and opportunities to prevent substance misuse and foster youth resilience in Burlington. We were excited to see over 55 local youth and adults come out to Hunt and Edmunds Middle Schools to share their experiences and perspectives on local issues. 

HealthyBTV hosted the two dialogue nights events as part of our ongoing efforts to collect community stories and perspectives about how substance use is impacting the lives of people in Burlington. We will use the information collected at the events to inform our recommendations for the city to strengthen community protections and address local risk factors. 

At each of the forums, BE Above youth group members from each school led the participants through an activity to discuss the results of the 2023 Burlington Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data. Then Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community Coalition Director, Mariah Flynn shared a short presentation of YRBS and other local data to ground the conversations.  Participants then self-selected into small group discussions focused on: strengthening community assets, improving local policy, supporting healthy social norms, and Burlington YRBS data. 

A few things we heard

The discussions highlighted pressing concerns about substance use in Burlington, particularly the normalization and exposure to cannabis, open drug sales, and the risks of impaired driving. Parents shared their experiences of witnessing drug transactions in public spaces with and without their children, while youth described their growing awareness of substance use through advertising and early exposure. 

Some people highlighted the need for more substance-free public spaces, particularly for young people and called out some of the spaces they enjoyed in Burlington where they already felt were safe and supportive of non-substance use. We heard over and over again about what people appreciated about this community they live in and that they were excited to have the opportunity to come together with others to think about how to improve the health and safety of City they love for the people they care about. 

What’s next? 

Now the HealthyBTV work group will review and compile all feedback received from the forums to determine the next step for their group. They’ll be identifying voices that were not present at the forum and strategies to work with additional partners to ensure we gather information from diverse perspectives across the Burlington community. 

These discussions provided valuable insights into the challenges residents face and the changes they hope to see. They also underscored the importance of the need for policy improvements and community-driven solutions.

Thanks!

These events would not have been possible without the support of the Hunt, EMS,and BHS Student Assistance Program Counselors, students in the BE Above youth groups, and a handful of dedicated volunteers from BHS. A BIG SHOUT out to our Healthy BTV work group members Mahat Abdullahi, Nicholas Tatakis, and Melissa Needham and SAPs Heather Washburn, Angela Halsted, and Marissa Stokes who volunteered their time and expertise to facilitate small group discussions at the events and ensure that all voices were heard. 

Many thanks to everyone who gave their time and contributed to making these events a success! If you could not make it to the event, but would like to share your story or perspective about the impact of substance misuse and prevention in Burlington please fill out this Community Feedback Form.