ELKTON â The loudest sound at the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) office in Elkton is the laughter as dance music blasts in the background. Eleven members of the Drug Free Cecil Youth Coalition used the office as a home base to attend the national Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) conference on drug use prevention last Thursday.
âWhy would teenagers want to come if we werenât having a good time,â said Beth Creek, the director of YES, when asked about the unexpectedly joyful atmosphere.
Usually, these students would be spending several days at the National Harbor, culminating in a visit to Capitol Hill to meet with government officials. On Thursday, the high-school students spoke to Representative Andy Harris and a representative for Senator Chris Van Hollen. Before Van Hollenâs aideâs face covered the screen, Drug Free Cecil discussed their strategy for how to showcase the importance of federal funding to their drug prevention.