Stand Up! is a school-based youth development Programme for young people whose lives are influenced by alcohol and other drug use. 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.  The practitioners use creative youth friendly techniques combined with approaches that have been proven by research.  You can also check out our own evaluation if you are interested.

Young people meet with two trained practitioners once a week. Each young person can be supported by a combination of one-to-one counselling, group activities, peer support and family meetings. These meetings involve respectfully exploring different areas of a young person’s life so that they can learn valuable skills and unleash their potential to be everything that they can be.

The practitioners try to ensure that the young people miss a maximum of one period of school a week.

Each young person gets support to build skills in:

• Exploring who they are and want to become.
• Setting and working towards goals.
• Making positive choices.
• Handling feelings in a positive way.
• How to talk to other people in a positive way.
• Getting on better with friends and family.
• How to get involved in their 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 they are.

No, it doesn't mean that your young person is in trouble. Sometimes young people need extra support to feel strong enough to make positive choices in their life. Your young person will also be gaining leadership skills and skills on how to work in a group.

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.

Have a look on this website for more information – the answer to your question may be here. Otherwise feel free to get in touch through the 'contact us' link.