Wednesday, January 15, 2025
1/15/2025
In 2017, the Empower Watsonville (EW) youth leadership program was created as part of the Tobacco Use Prevention and Education (TUPE) program at Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, Inc. (PVPSA). Since then, the group has expanded to include stakeholders from more sectors in the community, such as the Watsonville Police Department, Friday Night Live (an organization devoted to youth-led local projects promoting safer communities), the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Student Services Department, PVPSA’S Promotoras de Salud, the Santa Cruz County Tobacco Education Coalition, and Watsonville High School’s Conflict Resolution Team. As of 2018, Watsonville, California’s population was 53,937. 81.9% are Latinx; 14.3% are White; 2.4% are Asian American; 0.8% are two or more races; 0.4% are African American; 0.1% are Alaskan Native/Native American; and 0.1% are other. 73.2% are US citizens, and 37.6% were born outside of the United States. The median age of all residents is 29.7 years; native-born residents have a median age of 19, while foreign-born residents have a median age of 43. 28.7% of residents live below the poverty line; of those residents, 47.6% are Latinx. Males represent 49.6% of the population, and females 50.4%. Of the Parajo Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) youth from the area who responded to the California Healthy Kids Survey, fewer than 1% identified as transgender; between 13% and 18% (depending on grade level) identified themselves as gay/lesbian/bisexual. For those residents who declared themselves to be religious (31.7% of the population), 63.4% are Catholic, 28% belong to a Protestant denomination, 4.4% adhere to an Eastern faith, 2.7% are Muslim, and 1.5% are Jewish. Events contributing to youth substance abuse in Watsonville include the fact that the state of California legalized recreational cannabis use for adults in 2016; the Watsonville City Council approved recreational cannabis cultivation and manufacture. The expansion of cannabis-related business and retail in Watsonville has made cannabis more available to youth, as has the fact that many agricultural workers – parents – are now working in the cannabis cultivation businesses and thus normalizing youth exposure to the substance. For alcohol, local culture plays a significant role, as alcohol consumption is expected in Latinx parties where youth are the ones being celebrated, such as quinceañera parties. With grant funds from the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, the Empower Watsonville collaborative intends to expand its recruitment, education, outreach, and advocacy activities to reduce the use/misuse/abuse of alcohol and cannabis products among Watsonville youth.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).