Youth Empowerment Showcase is today

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Center for Prevention & Counseling will hold its inaugural Youth Empowerment Showcase (YES!) on Wednesday, April 10.

The free public event will spotlight local young people’s efforts to promote healthy choices among their peers.

It will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at Sussex County Community College’s Health Sciences and Performing Arts Center in Newton.

The event will showcase drawings, art and essays of young people that address the importance of steering clear of substances, such as alcohol, marijuana and vaping. The works also highlight positive influences that guide their lives, featuring submissions and winners from the center’s “What’s Your Anti-Drug, What Makes You Happy” and “Achieving My Dreams, Alcohol-Free” youth contests.

Guests may browse the showcase at their leisure.

There will be interactive displays by the center’s Incorruptible.us and the Wallkill Valley Coalition’s Above the Influence youth action groups. And agency staff will provide information on their services, including prevention programs, substance use disorder counseling and coaching, and addiction recovery supports, highlighting free resources available for youth, individuals, families and communities.

The Quarry Grill Food Truck will be selling items, including smash burgers, hot dogs and drinks.

For information about the YES! event, go online to www.CenterforPrevention.org/yes