CareSource Awards $1M to Youth-Led Prevention Program

Health plan pushes for preventative measures through evidence-based prevention.

(DAYTON, OH – March 7, 2022) – CareSource, a nationally recognized nonprofit health plan, announced today a gift of $1 million to CompDrug’s Youth to Youth International program to build the resiliency and leadership of Ohio’s youth. The Youth to Youth program has been a trailblazer and recognized leader in youth-led prevention since 1982.

"CareSource has demonstrated true leadership by prioritizing prevention and the promotion of wellness through its investment in the youth of Ohio,” said Dustin Mets, CEO, CompDrug. “The belief in one’s self to accomplish goals is perhaps the most powerful asset and resiliency factor a young adult can have. This is why CompDrug is so enthusiastic and proud to partner with CareSource in this effort that not only will result in lives saved, but lives built."

CompDrug's youth-led approach inherently teaches valuable skills related to workforce development, social-emotional skills and self-efficacy. Through this partnership, Youth to Youth will provide youth-centered prevention education, training, youth development and community capacity-building for over 30,000 youth and adults. This work will not only bolster the resiliency, life and leadership skills of the young people who participate but will empower those youth with the tools to create meaningful change in their communities, taking the preventative impact far beyond the immediate reach.

“Youth to Youth and CareSource have found a shared vision in promoting the well-being of our community's young people at a critical time,” said Cheryl Sells, Director of Youth Prevention at CompDrug. “This partnership will provide an opportunity for us to work with even more young people across the state of Ohio as well as in Franklin County. We cannot wait to share the creative projects that will not only give young people a voice but also the resources to take action and have a lasting impact.”

“Youth-led and adult-guided evidence-based prevention, such as those programs provided by Youth to Youth, provide young people with engaged third-party adults while mitigating risk factors and increasing protective factors,” said Tia Marcel Moretti, AVP Behavioral Health Integration at CareSource. “We are grateful for CompDrug's behavioral health programs and look forward to seeing more of Ohio’s youth empowered to overcome whatever life throws at them.”

CareSource’s support of the Youth to Youth program is part of the $3 million commitment to youth empowered prevention programs for behavioral health.

About CompDrug and Youth to Youth

Youth to Youth International (Y2Y) is a program of CompDrug, one of the largest nonprofit Opioid Treatment Programs in Ohio. CompDrug is a behavioral health provider, offering a continuum of addiction services from prevention through outpatient treatment and long-term recovery, impacting addiction across the lifespan.

In 1982, Youth to Youth pioneered a model of drug and alcohol prevention that empowers youth to take a lead role in creating and designing the programs that are delivered “for peers, by peers.” This youth-development and leadership approach builds assets and reduces risk factors among youth. 

“When you provide youth with positive peer and adult support, life and leadership skills, and a ‘voice’ to make meaningful change, the result is a young person who is empowered and able to resist the risky behaviors associated with so many negative outcomes, such as drug and alcohol misuse,” says Cheryl Sells, Director of Youth Prevention at CompDrug.

Y2Y has a 40-year history of successfully engaging youth across cultures and geographic regions and is recognized as a leader of youth-led prevention in Ohio and nationally. Hundreds of communities in the United States and abroad have chosen the Y2Y model to initiate or improve their positive prevention programming. Y2Y acts as both a national trainer and leader in youth-led prevention, as well as conducting programs locally throughout Central Ohio.

For more, visit compdrug.org, youthtoyouth.net or follow CompDrug on Facebook.