Engaging youth expertise for prevention: partnering with youth with lived experience to assess and address youth substance use and enhance local prevention capacity in the city and county of denver…

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded Denver Health and Hospital Authority (doing business as Denver Health) $425,000 on September 30, 2026, under the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.492).

The Engaging Youth Expertise for Prevention (EYE for Prevention) project partners with Denver youth aged 12–18 who have lived experience related to substance use to assess youth substance use prevention needs, plan and implement community-based prevention services, and evaluate outcomes. The project will develop and deliver trainings to enhance local prevention provider capacity. Work is performed in Denver, Colorado with a period of performance through September 29, 2031.

The assistance type is a Project Grant. The program supports prevention and early intervention strategies across states, tribes, and communities to reduce substance use impact by protecting access to high-quality healthcare, expanding community-based innovative prevention programs, and promoting youth-focused healthy behaviors.

Engaging youth expertise for prevention: partnering with youth with lived experience to assess and address youth substance use and enhance local prevention capacity in the city and county of denver - to prevent and reduce the initiation and progression of substance use and its related problems among denver youth, engaging youth expertise for prevention ( eye for prevention ) will partner with youth with lived experience related to substance use to: assess youth prevention needs; plan, implement, and evaluate community-based substance use prevention services; and develop and provide trainings to enhance the capacity of local prevention providers. The project will serve denver youth aged 12-18. The colorado state demography office's (CSDO) indicates that denver is home to 50,982 individuals aged 12-18. CSDO 2024 estimates indicate that 33% of denver county residents aged 12-18 identify as white, 11% black or african american, 4% asian