Montage Health Launches $1.56M Peer-Led Youth Opioid and Substance Use Prevention Program in Monterey County
核心洞察
Montage Health Foundation (搜索) received a $1.56 million, three-year contract from the Monterey County Health Department (搜索) to launch a youth opioid (搜索) and substance use prevention initiative beginning this fall.
The peer-led program will train student educators to deliver drug prevention workshops in 20 schools, reaching more than 100 classrooms of eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grade students at no cost.
The initiative addresses rising overdose deaths among U.S. adolescents, which reached 441 in 2024 compared to 282 in 2019, driven in part by fentanyl.
Montage Health Foundation (搜索) has been awarded a $1.56 million, three-year contract from the Monterey County Health Department (搜索) to launch a new opioid (搜索) and substance use prevention education initiative for Monterey County youth. Approved by the County's Board of Supervisors in April, the program will begin this fall and is designed to address rising concerns about opioids, such as fentanyl, and other substances impacting young people today.
The initiative relies on a peer-led model to prevent youth substance use before it starts. Trained student educators will lead workshops in eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grade classrooms during regular instructional time, such as health classes, extended learning opportunity time or FLEX/advisory periods, at no cost to participating students. The peer-to-peer model is designed to create a relatable, engaging environment that encourages open conversation and informed decision-making.
"When young people are empowered to lead, we create stronger, healthier communities for everyone," said Elsa Mendoza Jimenez, the County's director of health services. "Through our partnership with Montage Health, this initiative creates opportunities for youth to engage in open conversations, build meaningful connections and become champions for substance use prevention among their peers."
Program Scope and Partnerships
The program will recruit and train student leaders to deliver drug prevention education in 20 schools, reaching more than 100 classrooms each year, while also providing teacher-led curriculum, training, evaluation and technical support as the peer-led model is developed. Developed in partnership with the County Health Department, the initiative aligns with and is supported by the Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE) and the Safe and Healthy Schools coalition.
The program will be offered in collaboration with Stanford's REACH curriculum team and implemented following California and National Health Education Standards and AB 2429 opioid (搜索) prevention education requirements.
"MCOE is proud to partner with Montage Health on this important work," said Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Deneen Guss. "This initiative strengthens the safety and well-being of our school communities by giving students the knowledge and support they need to make healthy choices. It's a powerful example of how collaboration can positively impact families across Monterey County."
Clinical Foundation and Community Context
Montage Health brings deep experience to this effort through its longstanding drug and alcohol prevention programming in schools and its strong commitment to youth leadership in substance-use education. This expertise is strengthened by the clinical leadership of Ohana, Montage Health's youth and family mental health program, whose clinicians work daily with young people and families navigating substance use, mental health challenges and the pressures facing today's youth.
"Our mission is to improve lives, and there is no better place to start than by educating and protecting our youth," said Kevin Causey, president of Montage Health Foundation (搜索). "This initiative reflects our shared commitment to creating safer, healthier futures for young people across Monterey County."
The initiative addresses a pressing public health concern. Studies indicate that while substance abuse among youth in the U.S. has become less common overall, overdose deaths continue to rise. Some 441 American adolescents died from drug overdose in 2024, compared to 282 in 2019 — far fewer than during a startling spike of 721 in 2022, but still higher than pre-pandemic norms, according to health policy organization KFF. The sharpest increases in overdose deaths have been among Black and Hispanic youth.
Experts attribute many of these deaths to the popularization of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid (搜索) notorious for its high risk of fatal overdose. According to Julia Mendoza, a counselor who works in youth substance abuse treatment, working to end the crisis may be less a question of what drugs teens use than why they do so. "There's so many contributing factors," said Mendoza. "Family dynamics, academic challenges, poverty... we try to unravel all these challenges in hopes that we can work on coping skills and ultimately reduce or completely stop their usage."
Addressing Gaps in Prevention Education
Fewer than seven in 10 adolescents reported receiving substance use prevention education at school in 2023; during the 2024-25 school year, just 52% of schools reported offering education on fentanyl. Spearheaded by Yasmine Elsherbini, director of Community Health and Wellness at Montage, the new program promises to take big steps toward rectifying the apparent deficiency of drug education.
"Our goal is to create a safe, informed environment where youth, parents and school personnel can talk openly about substances, mental health and healthy lifestyle choices," said Elsherbini.
Supporting Resources and Community Engagement
Through the program, students will learn about opioids such as fentanyl and substance use risk, build decision-making and refusal skills, and strengthen protective factors that support healthy choices. Schools will have access to $1,500 in grants to support policy or environmental changes that reduce opioid (搜索) misuse and overdose, and students interested in starting drug-prevention clubs will receive guidance and support. In addition, the initiative will host countywide symposia for students, parents and school personnel to strengthen community awareness and engagement.
Local youth seeking treatment for substance abuse face many hurdles, not the least of which are financial. According to Anna Foglia, chief executive officer of Sun Street Centers, no residential youth substance abuse treatment program in all of Northern California currently accepts Medi-Cal. That leaves the 52% of Californian children enrolled in Medi-Cal as of 2024, and their families, with few options should drug addiction darken their doorstep.
"It costs a lot less to prevent the disease than to treat it," said Foglia. "If people can make healthy decisions when they're young, and take care of themselves, they're not going to get into a place where their lives become unmanageable and they need treatment."