The Center for Youth Issues–Nashville (CYI-N) undertakes many activities to prevent negative behaviors that threaten students’ safety, school success, and future productivity as well as to facilitate positive youth development. CYI-N implements several prevention programs for students and their families in schools and community sites across Middle Tennessee. In addition, we provide training and educational outreach to many audiences including teachers and district personnel. At the community and state levels, we advocate for formal prevention policy and are actively involved in multiple collaborations with government agencies and other nonprofits.

Students Taking A Right Stand
Our primary program is known as Students Taking A Right Stand (STARS). STARS is a comprehensive, school-based, student assistance program (SAP). Our goal is to help students (K-12) tackle the tough problems they face including substance use, teen pregnancy, school violence/bullying, academic failure, school suspensions, and dropout.

Most of our Specialists are in their school sites 5 days a week. They work with faculty teams and student leaders to develop prevention topics and activities tailored to the needs to students. Specialists provide universal prevention education (such as assemblies, classroom presentations) for all students as well as individual and small group support counseling to students who can benefit from individualized support. Specialists also link these students to additional appropriate services in the school and community. Students may choose to participate or may be referred by principals, teachers, guidance counselors, friends, parents, and community providers, among others.

Teens N Touch
Teens N Touch (TNT) is a CYI-N program operating in Williamson County. At the encouragement of United Way and other community leaders, we took on this program in 2000 when Crittenton Services closed. TNT provides universal peer education on sexual abstinence as well as counseling, support, and community referrals for pregnant and parenting teens. TNT recently implemented Teen Parenting support groups.

STARS Objectives:

• Strengthen students’ resistance, refusal, and decision-making skills related to alcohol, drugs, sexual activity, and violence
• Promote increased student school attachment
• Increase youth positive orientation to the future
• Promote student involvement in the community
• Improve student behavior related to their individual service objectives, i.e., anger/conflict management, grief issues, academic failure, suspension, absenteeism, etc.
• Provide crisis management support for faculty and students
• Increase student and family access to and utilization of appropriate community-based services (i.e., health, mental health, social, etc.)

Through activities such as:

• Universal prevention activities
• Small support group sessions
• Individual counseling sessions
• Parent Education classes
• Referrals to outside service providers
• Faculty and administration training
• Service Learning projects
• Cross age mentoring