Breaking the Cycle of Youth Substance Abuse 🚫

The use of substances within youth has become shockingly prominent; we must put an end to the cycle of peer pressure and destruction. Helia speaks of the dire nature of assisting our youth to avoid acts of desperation. We need to take preventative measures to stop youth from making irrational decisions at a vulnerable age. Helia is a grade 11 student studying in the International Baccalaureate Program at Port Moody Secondary School. She is an avid debater and Model United Nations delegate who has always been passionate about politics and government. However, her true interest lies in identifying necessity and problem-solving.
Helia traces her earliest memory of extending love and compassion to others as early as 10 years old, when she created a movement called “Helia’s Helping Hands for Haiti”, raising funds for countries facing the detriment of level 5+ earthquakes. Furthermore, Helia’s purposeful passion was continued throughout middle school by running the leadership forces and creating “A stand in honor of Nepal”.
Today, she is collaborating with educators in SD43 to implement “The Youth Development Program”, where the goal is to create a path to guide youth through a number of highschool struggles, such as mental health, substance abuse and peer pressure.
Alas, Helia is honored for the opportunity to spread knowledge and passion about the domino effect in our youth and the importance of working together to collectively solve these issues in order to make a difference in the lives of so many students in need of assistance. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx