Seabrook Middle School Students Raise Awareness Against Substance Misuse with Powerful PSA

SAU 21 Superintendent Meredith Nadeau is pleased to share that members of the Seabrook Middle School Youth to Youth (Y2Y) group premiered their substance misuse PSA, “Happy Birthday,” at the 12th Annual Granite Youth Alliance Film Festival. 

Youth to Youth is an international organization focused on youth-led substance misuse prevention that encourages younger generations to make safe, healthy choices while living free of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Seabrook Middle School’s Youth to Youth group is made up of about 12 students and is led by advisors Grade 6 Language Arts teacher Alyssa Dowe, School Counselor Hayley Parsons and Student Assistance Counselor Megan Poirier.

For the past ten years, students in the group have created a PSA to educate their peers about the dangers of substance misuse. This year’s PSA, “Happy Birthday,” premiered at the 12th Annual Granite Youth Alliance Film Festival at Portsmouth Music Hall on Monday, June 9. 

The Granite Youth Film Festival, which is supported by Granite United Way’s Greater Seacoast Region in partnership with the Granite Youth Alliance, empowers student leaders to create films that raise awareness about preventable health problems they face in their community. In the process of creating films, students experience the full process of film production, from budgeting and pitching their films to producing and premiering them. 

This year, Seabrook students chose to focus on substance abuse in their short film. In the film, students can see the impact of substances on a young teen and his peers’ mental health as he relives the same day over and over again until he confronts his issues with substances.

“I am inspired by the initiative these students are taking to raise awareness against substance misuse,” said Superintendent Nadeau. “I think their film is brave and important, and I am proud to see them create such a powerful piece of media focused on spreading a message significant to them, and to our entire school community.” 

View the PSA on the Seabrook Youth to Youth YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3_5vMBgDPQ