Asian Youth Prevention Services

The goal of the Asian Youth Prevention Services (AYPS) Program is to prevent, delay and reduce the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD) among Asian youth in San Francisco. The AYPS program is a partnership of the seven Asian and Pacific Islander youth service providing organizations that make up the AYPS Consortium. Along with JCYC, members of the AYPS Consortium include:
1) Asian American Recovery Services, Inc. (AARS)
2) CYC (formerly the Chinatown Community Center)
3) Filipino American Development Foundation/Filipino Community Center (FADF/FCC)
4) Samoan Community Development Center (SCDC)
5) Vietnamese Youth Development Center (VYDC)

To achieve the goal of preventing, reducing or delaying the use and abuse of ATOD among Asian youth, the program has designed activities that enhance the skills and abilities of participants to effectively make informed decisions about ATOD and other risk behaviors. Participants are recruited at member agency sites, in their respective communities/neighborhoods and at local schools sites. The program will provide community presentations and also target recent immigrant populations by recruiting in bilingual education classes. The program accepts referrals from counselors, teachers, other school personnel, and members of the community at large. Staff, who are bilingual in the various Asian languages support participants with Limited English speaking abilities.

The strategies used to achieve the goals of AYPS include:

Information Dissemination
All participating agencies conduct outreach and disseminate information on ATOD at community events, community fairs, and other venues with face-to-face contacts to community members. The information materials may include ATOD abuse, information materials, information packets, and bilingual information on ATOD.
Educational presentations are also provided to targeted youth and adults. Youth, parents and service providers will receive information regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and related risk behaviors and about the AYPS program. The community presentations are conducted in schools, community-based agencies and organizations, religious affiliated organizations, and at community events.

Support Groups
At risk youth are identified and recruited to participate in weekly support groups. The support groups are designed to increase self-esteem, cultural pride, supportive peer relationships, and problem solving skills. Topics discussed include: Cultural Pride, Social Competency, Change, Drug Education, and Health Education.

Supportive Services
Supportive Services are designed to assist participants in resolving critical issues they may face as adolescents and link them to appropriate services. The linkages will provide exposure, information and referral to services in education, employment, youth development, health and mental health and other support services. The program will utilize each member agency's existing network of support to connect participants to these services.

Youth Development
Youth Development activities are designed to enhance participant’s socialization skills, encourage participants to interact with one another in groups, and help build self-esteem and independence through organized, safe and ATOD free activities. Activities include: team sports, group trips to movies, amusement parks, camping trips and other recreational and sports activities. Participants may also attend conferences, focus groups and other youth related events.

Early Intervention
Apart from primary prevention, the program provides early intervention services consisting of case management and time-limited counseling. Early intervention services are provided for youth identified to be most at risk through the program's registration and assessment process as well as through-out their involvement with the program. Information and referral services are also provided as part of the early intervention services.

AYPS Referral Line
The Asian Youth Prevention Services (AYPS) Referral Line strives to support the well-being and healthy development of Asian and Pacific Islander youth in San Francisco. The AYPS Referral Line is a free and confidential referral service that links Asian and Pacific Islander youth to culturally appropriate mental health/substance abuse services and support services. Call the AYPS Referral Line when you have a youth who may be in need of services. CALL (415) 345-8662 Hours of Operation: 9-11:30AM and 1-4PM Monday-Friday

Environmental and Systemic Change
As the latest research indicates, the most effective preventative measures against AOD use involve shifting the perceptions and social norms concerning AOD – a change in the environments in which AOD use is fostered. This may take the form of a policy change, a legislative/law change, a norm change, or a counter campaign against AOD media messages. Accordingly, AYPS integrates the environmental strategy in its approach by training youth and building youth capacity, weaving long-term systemic outcomes into all activities, and advocating for city, state, and national efforts for longitudinal change. Finally, from a systemic level, AYPS is outcomes oriented, encourages data collection and offers provider training.

For more information, please contact:
Jen Nguyen at 415.202.7941 or at jnguyen@jcyc.org