Each week, Louis Dettorre will provide the PublicCEO Staff Report of the Week. Nominate yourself or a colleague by e-mailing ldettorre@publicCEO.com This e-mail address is being Protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

San Diego Councilmember Marti Emerald presented the city council with a proclamation naming April 18, 2012 as Latino Youth Council Day.

The Latino Youth Council was founded in 2001 as part of a nationwide movement. The city has hosted youth led town hall style meetings since 2008 focusing on the importance of leadership and the rejection of negative influences such as drugs and underage drinking.

Read the proclamation here.

The coalition is made up of youth between the ages of 12 and 18 who share the mission of raising community awareness of the dangers of drugs. Campaigns such as the “Hands off Holiday” and “Think Twice Before Selling Spice;” have focused on just that. Other initiatives have focused on the false glamour associated with the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.

Live2Graduate was established in 2011 as an underage drinking prevention campaign and turned into a movement that encouraged high school seniors to make prom night an alcohol-free celebration.

Other accomplishments include the developed of the “Do the Right Thing” campaign that supported the regulating of marijuana dispensaries in San Diego. Youth members participated in City Council hearings, provided testimony before the council, and collected over 130 postcards from residents in support of closing marijuana dispensaries that operated in violation of federal and local laws. Community members received an education about State and Federal drug laws.

April 18, 2012, was a day in which the Latino Youth Council brought together youth groups throughout the region to be a part of a conference with City Officials, law enforcement, legislators, parents, teachers and health professionals to discuss solutions for drug, tobacco, and alcohol abuse.

Each week, Louis Dettorre will provide the PublicCEO Staff Report of the Week. Nominate yourself or a colleague by e-mailing ldettorre@publicCEO.comThis e-mail address is being Protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.