Youth Sobriety Movement - Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley's (FBSMV) Youth Sobriety Movement project is a youth-led initiative to prevent and reduce underage drinking among youth and young adults ages 12-20 in the Santa Maria Valley. The project will increase local capacity to prevent substance misuse, abuse, and addiction by using data-driven, evidence-informed, and community-defined strategies to reduce early alcohol use, strengthen protective factors, and prevent long-term behavioral health and community safety consequences. STOP Act funding will build coalition capacity by formalizing the FBSMV Youth Action Coalition as the youth advisory body for the project. The Youth Action Coalition will work with the FBSMV Community Coalition to engage community sectors, identify gaps, strengthen relationships, and develop a Logic Model and 12-month Action Plan to guide underage drinking prevention strategies. The project will serve northern Santa Barbara County, including the City of Santa Maria, the City of Guadalupe, and the unincorporated community of Orcutt, with a combined population of more than 154,000 residents. The catchment area includes communities experiencing significant economic and prevention access disparities. According to 2023 Census data, per capita income varies from $21,100 in Guadalupe, with 27.7% poverty, to $27,440 in Santa Maria, with 17.3% poverty, and $49,979 in Orcutt, with 8.0% poverty. Local schools serving the target population include high percentages of Hispanic/Latino students, English Learners, and families experiencing poverty. Recent 2024-2025 CHKS data show early alcohol initiation with Guadalupe students reporting increases from 7th to 8th grade in lifetime alcohol use, past 30-day alcohol use, and binge drinking. Among Santa Maria Joint Union High School students, past 30-day alcohol use was reported by 5% of 9th graders, 5% of 10th graders, and 8% of 11th graders, with binge drinking reported by 2%, 2%, and 3%, respectively. These data points, combined with low perceived harm and youth-reported ease of access to alcohol, demonstrate the need for prevention strategies that begin before high school and continue through high school.. The Youth Sobriety Movement will use the Strategic Prevention Framework and CADCA's Seven Strategies for Community Level Change to assess local conditions, gather public feedback, strengthen community participation, and implement strategies that address the five STOP Act program aims. Strategies will include adapting and disseminating SAMHSA's Talk They Hear You campaign, hosting alcohol- and drug-free youth events, providing youth leadership and advocacy development, and coordinating environmental prevention strategies with technical assistance from prevention partners. Measurable objectives include reaching approximately 21,150 youth, parents, and adults annually through campaign and event activities, for an estimated 84,600 individuals over four years. The project will also generate an estimated annual media reach of 720,000 through prevention messaging and outreach, for a four-year media reach of 2,880,000. FBSMV will monitor progress using local data and performance measures.
