Empowering Youth, Strengthening Communities
When young people have a voice, access to resources, and supportive relationships, they can transform their families, schools, and communities. Across Illinois, subrecipients of Build, Amplify, Support, Empower (BASE) funding are creating opportunities for youth and emerging adults to thrive by
- Increasing awareness of substance use and related risk and protective factors,
- Connecting youth and families to evidence-informed supports,
- Strengthening community capacity, and
- Empowering adults and organizations that influence youth to build healthier, more resilient communities.
Elevating Youth Voice
Youth perspectives are at the heart of The BREAK Crystal Lake Teen Center’s work. “We are passionate about uplifting youth voices and helping young people identify their goals and develop solutions to challenges,” the staff explain.
One example is the second annual Youth Empower Alliance Youth-Led Conference, held in April 2026. The event featured five youth advisory committees, each focused on issues affecting local youth. The Substance Awareness Committee called for stigma-free access to resources in the area and youth-led panels in schools. Conference attendees, including county and community leaders, were “blown away” by each committee’s presentation and pledged to help youth reach their goals. As one county board member noted, “You are not just the leaders of tomorrow; you are already leading today. This is what leadership looks like: identifying a problem, developing solutions, and building a coalition to advocate for and drive change.” This youth-led approach reflects BASE’s emphasis on increasing community awareness of substance use, reducing stigma, and strengthening coalitions by giving young people meaningful roles in identifying needs and shaping solutions.
The BREAK also creates other opportunities for young people to turn their creativity, leadership, and goals into action. It supports students suspended for substance misuse violations, as well as students pursuing personal interests and aspirations. Through recovery coaching, participants gain access to opportunities they might not otherwise have, including free music lessons through the Soundwaves program and connections to mentors and coaches who support athletic and academic success.
These opportunities have led to youth-driven initiatives with broad community engagement. “Several of our students formed a band and then organized a show featuring their group and three other bands,” staff shared. “We reached capacity and had to turn people away at the door. It was a great opportunity to provide harm reduction materials and to engage with our high school musicians about their future goals.”
Expanding Access to Resources
Hour House (also known as the Central East Alcoholism and Drug Council), another BASE subrecipient, uses a variety of outreach strategies to connect with youth and families. Staff engage with community members at farmers’ markets, coffee events, food pantries, laundromats, resource fairs, and community partner events and through social media and radio outreach. These outreach efforts serve as an important gateway to services, helping Hour House identify needs, strengthen community trust, and connect youth and families to appropriate resources and support.
These relationships also help inform the team’s resource distribution efforts. The team has handed out thousands of resource bags and kits (figure 1) to support youth in need. The team actively engages with students, school staff, and community organizations to gather valuable feedback regarding the utility and impact of the items included. This continuous dialogue helps refine and enhance the offerings based on community needs while supporting BASE’s focus on effective program implementation.
>3,500 Resource bags |
|
2,600 Laundry kits | Laundry detergent, softener sheets, and other items to meet various household needs |
950 Menstrual kits | Essential hygiene products neatly packed in a mylar bag to ensure discretion and convenience |
Figure 1: Resources distributed to youth . . . and counting! Data through FY26.
Beyond addressing immediate youth needs, the team strengthens the broader network of support by equipping community organizations with tools that can reduce stigma, support youth in distress, and connect people to treatment and recovery resources.
- Schools, shelters, and substance use disorder service providers receive Handle with Care age-specific toolkits that include literature on relevant topics, a calming breathing light for stress relief, and a comforting weighted stuffed animal.
- Law enforcement agencies receive toolkits that include a guided breathing device and a weighted German Shepherd stuffed animal, fostering well-being and comfort among youth in distress.
Building Supportive Relationships
BASE subrecipients are dedicated to supporting individuals in recovery. Hour House’s BASE team of four skilled Recovery Navigators has completed comprehensive training to become certified as peer support specialists, equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to assist others on their recovery journey.
In addition to the foundational curricula provided by Project Towards No Drug Misuse and Teen Intervene, Hour House staff actively participate in a range of specialized training opportunities that help them better understand and address the unique challenges faced by young people. These trainings include Motivational Interviewing techniques; Youth Mental Health First Aid; and Youth Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment. Together, these trainings support BASE’s goals of increasing awareness, reducing stigma, and strengthening effective program implementation.
The BREAK staff also pride themselves on their ability to connect youth with resources. “We have developed the relationships and trust necessary to help connect youth to very specific services that they may not know exist or be able to access within their family dynamics,” staff explain. “We also recognize that parents are overwhelmed, so we leverage parent support already in our community, such as National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) McHenry County and SMART Recovery Family and Friends meetings. An empathetic conversation with a parent, free of judgement, empowers both parents and the students.”
Creating Lasting Impact Across Communities
By elevating youth voices, connecting youth and families to critical resources, and fostering supportive relationships, BASE empowers young people to overcome challenges and realize their potential. The impact extends beyond individual participants. Neighboring communities are looking to replicate The BREAK’s model, while educators describe the program as having an “amazing impact” on students. At the same time, schools report that Hour House’s resource bags have been “game changers” in meeting growing student needs.
These successes demonstrate that investing in youth and aligning with their interests benefits entire communities. When young people are given opportunities to lead, connected to appropriate resources, and supported in trusted relationships, they become powerful agents of positive change.