How We Got Here

ONE Voice Youth to Youth is modeled on the successful Dover youth empowerment program. Dover Youth to Youth (Y2Y) was formed by the Dover Police Department in February 1994 as a means to give the youth of the community a means of taking action and being part of the solution to problems relating to substance abuse.

It was started with a core group of 11 sixth graders and has grown to an active group of 90 students in grades 6 through 12 working on four “Teams”. A team has 20-25 students and two or three advisers.

Over the past ten years Dover Y2Y has become nationally recognized for its capacity to develop leadership and life skills in its members, while impacting their environment. Y2Y teams have proposed and passed three state laws and four city ordinances, recorded over 50 radio and video PSAs, developed several presentations taught locally and in 19 states all over the US, and conducted hundreds of community awareness projects and programs.

In late 2008, Dover Y2Y was advised that Region F (Strafford County and the Portsmouth area) of New Hampshire’s Strategic Prevention Framework had chosen Dover’s youth empowerment model as a core strategy to impact underage drinking. In January 2009 the region officially got the go-ahead to implement their plan to establish youth empowerment groups in seven of eight high schools in Region F (the 8th – Dover HS – already had the program).

Funds were directed to each of the high schools to enable them to hire advisers and pay for some supplies. Additional funds were provided to Dover Y2Y for the purpose of providing technical assistance to the seven schools.