Lynnfield Youth Leads Training at Virtual Kick Butts Day

Recently, young people from A Healthy Lynnfield and Lynnfield High School attended Kick Butts Day: Youth Day of Action, a virtual event hosted by The 84 Movement, a statewide movement of youth fighting against the tobacco and vaping industries in Massachusetts. The more than 200 youth and adults who attended Kick Butts Day from around the Commonwealth work to educate and mobilize young people in their communities about tobacco and vaping industry targeting and the conditions that affect youth tobacco and nicotine use. Kick Butts Day took place at the Massachusetts State House in Boston before the pandemic; now The 84 Movement still offers a safe way to celebrate the annual event.

During the event, young people participated in a workshop to prepare for meeting with their legislators later in the day. As part of the workshop, Evyenia Georges, a junior at Lynnfield High School, participated in a panel discussion with Representative Danielle Gregoire, introducing the teens to what legislators do and questioning Representative Gregoire about her experience. During the workshop, the young people learned how youth can educate legislators and impact their work; they also received some tips to guide their meetings with legislators. Most importantly, they learned that when young people speak about issues that matter to them, legislators listen.

Later during the Kick Butts Day event, The Healthy Lynnfield youth met virtually with Senator Brendan Crighton and his aide, Sean Reid and with Representative Brad Jones and his staff member Michelle Pacillo. The young people spoke with their legislative representatives about their concerns regarding the mental health of their peers and the need for more prevention, intervention and treatment efforts. The group talked about the need for prevention measures like mental health education in schools. They also spoke about their continued concern around vaping, shared stories about how youth are vapes are still accessible to youth, and discussed the need for more inclusive and relevant prevention intervention and treatment efforts.

For more information, visit www.The84.org, mass.gov/vaping and mass.gov/quitting or contact Ashley Hall at Ashley.Hall@glfhc.org or (978) 722-2864.