County Government providing a wide range of services. Departments include Health & Human Services, Information Services, Sheriff, Probation, District Attorney, Planning, Public Works, Parks, Elections, Personnel, Assessor, Auditor- Controller- Treasurer- Tax Collector, Agricultural Extension, County Administrative Office, and numerous others.
Program Information SUD has two types of learning opportunities:
1) Friday Night Live- Student Workers help plan, prepare and implement projects that increase the health, safety and wellbeing of our community. Actions focus on limiting youth access to substances, community education and engagement, and development and implementation of campaigns addressing alcohol, cannabis, prescription drugs, tobacco and traffic safety.
Responsibilities may include:
• Interacting with local government, law enforcement, community organizations and community members;
• Networking and communicating with various community partners;
• Supporting youth and coalition members in developing, planning and implementing prevention campaigns;
• Supporting communications messaging through email, social media, media, websites and listservs;
• Conducting data collection including surveys and community interviews on alcohol, cannabis, prescription drugs;
• Researching policy issues and evidenced based programs;
• Developing, coordinating and conducting training in partnership with youth and coalition members;
• Assisting with grant writing, info graphics, reports and policy briefs;
• Designing flyers, public service announcements, blogs and other forms of outreach and communication;
• Conducting program and community events such as educational tabling, town hall meetings, and special events;
• Transporting youth volunteers;
• General office duties including taking notes at meetings, coordinating meetings and facilities, filing, event and program prep, and phones;
• Attending staff meetings, training's and conferences.
Qualifications: This position is open to college and graduate students enrolled in at least nine units. The Student Worker should have an interest in in community substance use disorder prevention, limiting youth access to alcohol and drugs, and must be comfortable working with youth and adults of all ages and backgrounds. Student Workers must possess a valid California Class C driver’s license (please, no provisional or otherwise restricted licenses), and must pass a background check.
Friday Night Live (FNL) builds partnerships for positive and healthy youth development which engage youth as active leaders and resources in their community.
The FNL program is motivated by youth-adult partnerships that create essential and powerful opportunities that enhance and improve local communities. Community service, social action activities, participation in advocacy for safe and healthy environments, and promotion of healthy policies are organized by youth to appeal to youth.
Interns will guide 1 to 2 youth chapters during the school year to complete a community health project focused on drug and alcohol prevention and lead grant funded projects.
Additional activities include coordinating and implementing events, actively engaging with youth to create a safe environment and develop meaningful relationships. general office duties, youth coordination, project management, and additional tasks as required for program needs.
Interns will have opportunities to network and work in multidisciplinary environments and collaborate with law enformcement, non-profit organizations, schools, youth, and community members.
MLOs include: Collaboration, Cross Cultural Competency, Leadership, Professional Communication, Professional Ethics, Public Policy Analysis, and Professional Development.
There is potential for being paid for this position. Fifteen to twenty hours per week required for paid position.
2) Community Prevention Partners
Santa Cruz County Prevention Partners (CPP) is dedicated to building a diverse community that promotes health and wellbeing, and enhances youth and community safety through sustainable alcohol and drug prevention efforts.
CPP is a coalition of 130 partner organizations and individuals who implement evidence-based environmental strategies that limit access and promotion of substances to youth, increase enforcement of policies, and shift community norms and perceptions about substance use helping more people to seek the help they need.
MLOs addressed: Collaboration, Cross Cultural Competency, Financial Mgmt, Professional Communication, Professional Ethics, Public Policy Analysis, Systems Mgmt
CHHS interns will have the opportunity for policy analysis, policy advocacy and education, and public policy communications; grant research and writing; meeting preparation, facilitation, note taking; initiative projects such as community events, and community organizing; social media; and participation as a member of CPP.
Interns will have an opportunity to work accross multiple governmental and community agencies in collaborative processes that expose them to community leaders and projects that will be stand-out for their resumes as well as provide a potential foot-in-the-door for professional opportunities.
In general terms internships could include:
1. Overseeing meeting coordination and communication for the Prescription Drug Education Initiative as a whole and/or for some of the initiatives that do not have a Chair or Co-Chair. (Typical duties would include emailing out meeting invitations and reminders and sometimes scheduling meeting rooms, date and times for work groups. Distributing agendas and minutes to the overall Coalition as well as the work groups. Taking minutes/ creating agendas for work groups that the intern selects into.)
2. Taking on tasks within the overall Coalition &/or work group that the intern joins/ selects into. (Examples of tasks might include: conducting community interviews on one of the Coalition's topic areas, doing research on a specific issue, contacting a potential guest speaker to come to Coalition or work group meeting, collecting statistics, policy projects such as developing community education pieces, grant writing and research, and so forth, responding to inquiries from community members about the coalition, recruiting potential coalition or work group members, and assisting with social media.)
Our policy is to work with the intern to develop a relevant internship that supports both student learning objectives and CPP needs.
Desired intern characteristics: Authentic, values equality for all, honest, reliable, does what they say they will do, sense of humor, appreciates diversity and collaborating with community members to create a safe and healthy community.
This internship has potential for being paid.