YouthCentric Awarded Opioid Settlement Funds

YouthCentric awarded $328,230 grant for teenage substance abuse prevention programs in Cherokee, Bartow and Paulding counties

YouthCentric, a Cobb County-based non-profit organization that focuses on mental health and wellness skills for teenagers has been awarded a $328,230 grant by the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust.

This two-year grant will allow YouthCentric to expand into Cherokee, Bartow and Paulding counties and offer the afterschool program Matched for Good and the summer program B3. The organization currently sponsors programs at Osborne High School, Marietta High School, North Cobb High School and Walton Ridge-Ridenour Communities.

YouthCentric also will use the award to produce and distribute a targeted series of substance abuse prevention videos. These efforts are expected to reach 725 teenagers in-person and 25,000 views of our online videos.

YouthCentric was founded in 2019 by Scott Solana and offers a new approach - a program that was designed by teens and delivered by college students. The mission of YouthCentric is to strengthen resilience, emotional stability and life balance to address the teenage mental health crisis as documented by the rising and alarming rates of anxiety, suicide, addiction and depression. At YouthCentric, teens find a place to build, balance, belong and experience positive role models near their age.

In 2021, a nationwide settlement was reached to resolve all opioids litigation brought by states and local governments against the three largest pharmaceutical distributors. Georgia and its local governments are expected to receive $638 million under the settlement agreement in the coming years.

YouthCentric’s grant was awarded by the Georgia Opioid Settlement Advisory Commission, which recently approved $44.4 million for 130 projects. Many of the projects are focused on treatment, prevention, supporting people in recovery, increasing the availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, and boosting research.

Solana also expressed his appreciation to public officials who provided letters of support for YouthCentric’s grant application: state Sens. Kay Kirkpatrick (R-32), Jason Esteves (D-6) and Sally Harrell (D-40), Roswell City Councilwoman Sarah Beeson and Granville Freeman of the Metro Region Education Service Agency.

More information about YouthCentric is available on its website.