Wal-Mart Jewelry Department does it again! Youth Bridge was the recipient of a $1000 grant awarded on September 16, 2009  to support our Partners Against Substance Abuse program. In 2008, Youth Bridge was also fortunate to receive a $1000 donation from the Wal-Mart Jewelry Department to go toward the Partners Against Substance Abuse (PASA) program.  Without the generous support from friends such as Wal-Mart, our programming and outreach to our area youth would be limited.  From all of us at Youth Bridge, we say a sincere “thank you”!

Our PASA program recognizes that Northwest Arkansas has a considerable problem with substance abuse. Did you know that: According to the 2007 Arkansas Legislative Task Force on Substance Abuse Prevention  and the 2008 Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment reports on adolescent alcohol and substance abuse,  some frightening statistics indicate that of the 88,000 students in the  6,8,10,12^th grade that participated in the assessments:That 45% have used alcohol sometime in their lives

• That 20.5% have used alcohol during the last 30 days
• Nearly half of all 12^th grades reported drinking at home or at someone else’s home.
• Arkansas youth drink at a younger age than their peers throughout the nation, averaging at 12.6 years.
• One in four Arkansas 12^th grades report binge drinking (5 or more drinks per episode)
• Over 800 6^th graders reported binge drinking
• Thirty percent of 10^th graders report drinking alcohol during a thirty-day period of time
• One in five teens have abused  prescription pain medication
• That 85% of all overdose deaths are caused by prescription drug use
• In Washington County, 15% of 10^th graders and 24% of 12^th graders admitted to abusing prescription drugs
• That 6% of the 10^th graders admitted to abusing over-the-counter (OTC) drugs while 10% of the 12^th graders admitted to abusing OTC drugs
• In Benton County, 16% of high school sophomores and 22% of seniors have abused prescription drugs