Northern Ohio Recovery Association: JUMPSTART for a Better Tomorrow Project

The Mentoring Opportunities for Youth Initiative, Category 4 (Project Sites and Mentoring Strategies for Youth Impacted by Opioids and Drug Addiction) supports youth mentoring organizations that have a demonstrated partnership with a public or private substance abuse treatment agency. The focus of this category is to provide mentoring services as a part of a prevention, treatment and supportive approach for those youth impacted by opioids and drug addiction. This program is authorized and funded pursuant to Pub. L. No. 116-93, 133 Stat. 2317, 2410.

Northern Ohio Recovery Association’s JUMPSTART for a Better Tomorrow (JSBT) project is a full-service mentorship program that provides substance use prevention, wraparound services, and therapeutic services. JSBT addresses the abuse of drugs, including prescription drugs, and combines life skills training, work experience, and school credit by placing youth in internships related to their current or prospective studies. JSBT will serve 150 unduplicated youth enrolled at Shaw High School (East Cleveland, Ohio) who are at risk, currently abusing, or have abused opioids. Referrals are generated from teachers, parents, and community stakeholders. Program services will include: (1) a psychologist and licensed therapists who will conduct biopsychosocial assessments when there may be a mental health issue and will conduct individual/group therapy; (2) academic remediation; (3) case management services, to include conducting needs assessments; pre-, mid-, and post-testing; development of an individualized prevention services plan; and facilitation of linking youth and family members with community resources to address needs that may contribute to delinquency, mental health issues, experimentation with/abuse of substances, homelessness, and/or unemployment; (4) life coaches/mentors who provide an evidence-based prevention program curriculum and prosocial and life skills training that are delivered in the group setting to teach youth life, gender-responsive, and wellness skills and promote the development of positive peer associations (life coaches may represent the parent during meetings with school personnel when the parent is not available); (5) community service-learning activities to conduct public messaging and awareness campaigns on the risk of substance misuse; (6) partnering with community organizations throughout Cuyahoga County and implementing comprehensive community-based substance misuse prevention strategies, including out-of-school programming for youth; and (7) internship opportunities. Ohio-certified teachers (tutors) will assist participants with homework, research projects, college preparatory classes, educational skill building, and tutoring. Particular emphasis will be placed on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Youth who successfully complete the JSBT program will gain knowledge, skills, and abilities to overcome environmental and negative peer influences; develop prosocial attitudes toward education, law, and order; delay the age of onset and reduce substance use; and decrease risky behaviors. CA/NCF