Stand Up! is a school-based youth development Programme for young people whose lives are influenced by alcohol and other drugs. It aims to:

• Empower young people to make positive choices in their life and form positive connections with their families/whānau, school and communities.
• Empower young people to explore and be proud of who they are and who they would like to become.
• Empower young people to reduce the impact of substance use on their life.

The Programme is founded on principles of positive youth development and reflects the Te Whare Tapa Wha and Fonofale models of health and wellbeing.

Being straight up, Stand Up! is all about talking to the trained practitioners to learn valuable skills and unleash our potential to be everything that we can be!

If you were a young person involved in Stand Up! you’d have the option of being supported by a combination of one-to-one counselling, group activities, peer support and family meetings. Here are the main steps that you might take if you joined the Programme:

1. Put your name forward
   Most young people who are involved in Stand Up! have asked to be involved. However, some young people are invited to meet the practitioners by their teachers, deans or school counselor. Also, some young people are asked to join the Programme as a condition of their return to school after being stood down or suspended.
2. Individual Catch-Up
   Each young person meets individually with one of the practitioners. The main purpose of this meeting is to enable the young person and the practitioner to get to know a bit about each other. The practitioner will also give an outline of the Programme, privacy and help the young person figure out what they want to work on during the Programme.
3. Groups or One to One
   Most young people who are involved in Stand Up! take part in a Stand Up! group. This group meets once a week for one period. During the group all group members participate in activities that help them think about different areas of their life. These activities are tailored to each group and help group members develop skills in leadership and setting and working towards personal goals. Meeting individually with a practitioner is always an option for all young people who request it.
4. Peer Support and Workshops
   Sometimes practitioners train peer support leaders in schools on alcohol and other drug effects and communication skills. In addition, practitioners can be involved in health days or small workshops. Young people who are involved in the Stand Up! Programme can sometimes help the practitioners to facilitate these workshops in their school.
5. Family Meetings
   If a young person and the practitioners decide that it would be helpful for the practitioners to meet their family this can be arranged. This can help the young person get on better with their family and make other really positive changes. These meetings usually involve other school staff like the school counselor or social worker.

Each young person will miss a maximum of one period a week.

As a young person involved in Stand Up! you would be supported to build skills in:

• Exploring who you are and who you want to become.
• Setting and working towards goals.
• Making positive choices.
• Handling your feelings in a positive way.
• How to talk to other people in a positive way.
• Getting on better with your friends and family.
• How to get involved in your school and community.
• How to cut down or stop using substances like alcohol or marijuana.
• How to  be a good leader.
• How to work in a group.
• Being proud of who you are!

Each young person is expected to:

• Meet with the practitioners either in a group or individually once a week. Sometimes the practitioners and a young person will decide to meet less often, maybe once every two weeks or once a month.
• Be working towards achieving a goal by the end of the term. Heaps of young people work on cutting back or stopping using substances like alcohol or marijuana.
• Set goals each week and work towards achieving them.
• Follow school rules. This includes not coming to meet with the practitioners drunk or stoned.

The practitioners want to respect everyone’s story. In order to achieve this, they let young people know that what they talk about remains private and isn’t shared with others. However, the practitioners also let young people know that they work in a team with the student support staff, such as the school counselor, and that sometimes they may need to share information with other members of this team. This is especially the case if they are worried that a young person could be harmed by someone or perhaps harm themselves or another person.

Each young person is encouraged to let the practitioners know if they are especially keen for something that they’d like to share to remain just between them.

Want to be involved or want more information? We work in some South Auckland schools and may even be in yours. Check out with your school support services what’s available for you. If it’s not us, they will be able to hook you up with some other support! And also have a look on the ‘useful links’ page – the answer to your questions could be there.