SACY Substance Use Prevention Initiative is a joint initiative of the Vancouver School Board and Vancouver Coastal Health in collaboration with the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Police Department, the University of British Columbia and the Centre for Addictions Research of BC. SACY engages parents, teachers, students, administrators and the greater community of Vancouver in a process to strengthen school-based alcohol and drug prevention, and early-intervention programs and policies.

As big fans of the outreach and engagement model, we leapt at the opportunity to join forces with the kind folks at SACY to create a video that would further engage youth in dialogues around substance use. It didn't take long for a plethora of ideas to start whirling in the collective brain of Hello Cool World's Youth Media Lab, so we packed up our gear and headed straight to the experts - real, Vancouver youth - for their input on what stresses today's youth face, how they deal with their problems, how they can be safe if they choose to turn to a substance, and where they can go for support in times of trouble.

After a few video and photo shoots, and a 'few' more sessions in the edit suite, we developed Share Your Voice - a project that features the honest thoughts and opinions of real Vancouver youth about real youth life. 

Video