Empowering Youth. Supporting Families. Strengthening Communities.

At Power of U, we believe prevention starts with education, connection, and community.

Our prevention services are designed to reduce youth substance use by equipping young people with the knowledge and skills to make healthy decisions, providing parents and caregivers with practical resources, and working alongside schools, organizations, businesses, and community partners to create environments where youth can thrive.

Through evidence-based education, prevention awareness campaigns, community outreach, and strategic partnerships, we work to strengthen protective factors and help young people build healthier, substance-free futures.

What We Do

Youth Prevention Education

We provide evidence-based prevention education that helps young people understand the risks associated with substance use while strengthening the skills they need to make healthy choices.

Through school-based and community programming, youth have opportunities to build decision-making and refusal skills, increase their knowledge of substance use prevention, and develop protective factors that support their overall well-being.

Prevention Education & Awareness

Prevention doesn’t stop when a program ends.

Power of U provides year-round prevention messaging designed to reach youth, parents, caregivers, educators, and community members with timely, relevant information.

Our prevention education addresses topics such as: Peer pressure, vaping prevention, alcohol awareness, marijuana awareness, mental health awareness, healthy coping skills, self-esteem, healthy decision-making, warning signs of substance use, social media influences, parent and caregiver conversation starters, and so much more.

We also provide prevention messaging during times of the year when young people may face increased risks or social pressures, including Back-to-School, Homecoming, Halloween, Red Ribbon Week, holidays, Prom, Graduation, and Summer Break.

Community Outreach

We bring prevention directly into the communities we serve.

Power of U participates in health fairs, school functions, community festivals, back-to-school events, and other outreach opportunities where our team connects youth and families with prevention education, resources, and information about available services.

These conversations allow us to meet families where they are while increasing access to reliable prevention information and strengthening connections throughout the community.

Parent & Caregiver Support

Parents and caregivers play an important role in prevention.

We provide practical resources, prevention strategies, warning signs to look for, and conversation starters that help adults have meaningful discussions with young people about substance use, peer pressure, healthy coping, and decision-making.

Our goal is to give families information they can use—not just information they can read.

Merchant Education

Power of U also supports community efforts to prevent youth access to tobacco and nicotine products.

Through merchant education, we work to increase retailer awareness of North Carolina laws regarding the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to minors and provide educational resources that support responsible retail practices and community compliance.

Our Approach

Effective prevention takes all of us. That’s why Power of U combines education, awareness, outreach, and community partnership to address youth substance use from multiple directions. We work with young people while also engaging the adults, schools, organizations, businesses, and communities that influence the environments in which they grow.

Our prevention efforts are focused on increasing awareness, strengthening protective factors, supporting healthy decision-making, improving access to prevention resources, and building stronger community partnerships.

Building Healthier Futures Together

Prevention is more than telling young people what not to do. It’s helping them develop the knowledge, confidence, support systems, and skills they need to make healthy decisions for themselves.

At Power of U, we’re committed to creating communities where young people feel informed, supported, connected, and empowered to choose a healthier future.