Youth First Story of Change: Dr. Wooten’s Why
For nearly 30 years, Youth First has been carrying out our mission to strengthen youth and families. Our model provides an impactful mental health support system along with prevention programs at no cost to students or their families.
Youth First’s story began in the mid-1990s with our founder, Dr. William Wooten. He was an Evansville addictions physician who was troubled by increasingly younger clients experiencing complex problems, often linked to traumatic home lives. Why create Youth First? Dr. Wooten desired an effective, accessible healthcare system that reached kids early enough to solve problems and help prevent long-term issues.
He knew what didn’t work: one-time speaker events, scare tactics, Red Ribbon Weeks, poster days, and similar activities. Research has shown that these strategies are not effective in preventing mental health and substance misuse issues. Rather, Dr. Wooten convinced local school corporations to collect and publish data on student substance use and rallied community leaders to identify and prioritize proven approaches to prevention.
Two solutions emerged: 1) evidence-based community programs to enhance parenting skills and protective life skills in youth, and 2) highly trained mental health professionals (primarily Master’s level social workers) embedded in schools to implement tiered prevention strategies for students and to support teachers and parents. Built on evidence-informed practices, independent evaluations, continuous improvement, and carefully nurtured relationships with school partners and funders, Youth First’s prevention model grew.
Our trusted approach to identifying and addressing the social-emotional needs of K-12 youth has been recommended for replication by the Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse and profiled in the peer-reviewed journals Stanford Social Innovation Review and Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma.
Today, with your support, Youth First reduces the prevalence of mental health and substance misuse challenges, saves lives, promotes healthy behaviors, maximizes student success, strengthens our workforce, and no doubt is ultimately improving the overall health of Indiana communities.
