Happy Thanksgiving!
We hope you have a wonderful holiday!
Alabama DFC House Party
Grand Prize Winner!
Kiani Rivera is the Alabama DFC House Party Grand Prize Winner! Kiani is from Huntsville, AL. She is a senior at Columbia High School where she is also a cadet in the JROTC program. Kiani loves playing volleyball and spending time with her family and friends. After high school she wants to attend UAB and get a Bachelor of Science in nursing so that she can become a trauma nurse.

Kiani started singing around seven years old. While scrolling through Tiktok she came across an ad for the DFC House Party competition and, with the support of her family, decided to enter the contest. According to Kiani, “winning this competition gave me motivation to try new things and to step out of my comfort zone, I’m very proud of myself and will continue to share my talent with the world. I want to thank everyone who helped to make this competition possible, helped me step out of my comfort zone and see my talent! Without this competition I would have locked my talent away. I also want to give credit to my mom! She’s just the best! She pushed me and supported me all the way. Helped me spread the word and helped me to keep my head up and stay positive. Huge shout out to my mom. Love you mom!”

Click the button below to watch Kiani share her rendition of "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from a "Star is Born."
AL DFC House Party campaign stats so far…
 
Activity
 
Paid Media Stats
  • 780,000 Ad Impressions on TikTok
  • Birmingham Area Online Ad Impressions – 305,374
  • Mobile Area Online Ad Impressions – 149,775
  • Montgomery Area Online Ad Impressions – 150,581
  • YouTube Impressions – 49,000 (11,502 either completed the video or clicked on the ad…whoa)
  • 300+ Radio Promos
  • 248,000 Streaming Radio Impressions
  • 478,000 Social Media Impressions
Even though visiting your school in person is not possible at this time, we would love to visit virtually to see what you and your students are doing to provide student-led prevention of adolescent risk behaviors through FOCUS and Peer Helping! If interested, please complete the form so that a member of the FOCUS staff may visit with your students virtually and see the amazing activities being planned in your school. Use the Google Form to contact us if you would like additional FOCUS Facilitator Training.
CDC Releases Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Data Summary & Trends Report
CDC released the, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Data Summary & Trends Report: 2009-2019, which provides an in-depth look at trends in sexual behaviorhigh-risk substance use, experience of violence, mental health, and suicide. Risk behaviors co-occur, and many students experience multiple risks across these four priority areas that are closely linked to HIV and STD risk.

This 2020 report examines 24 variables and includes three new health behaviors—recent prescription opioid misuse, STD testing, and HIV testing. It also provides data on the health behaviors and experiences of sexual minority youth from the 2015, 2017, and 2019 cycles of the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), allowing trends to be reported for this population for the first time.   
FOCUS School Registration
If you haven't registered or updated your FOCUS registration for this school year then please click on the link below and register today.
Alumni of the Month
Every month we will highlight one of FOCUS' alumni!
Our November Alumni of the Month is Claire Hendrickson! Claire graduated from Jacksonville High School in May 2020 where she served as FOCUS President. She is now pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication with a focus in Journalism and Digital Media at the University of North Alabama. Claire is a member of the UNA Roar Dance Team. She has also been involved with the UNA Center for Women’s Studies, assisting with events such as the Clothesline Project. Claire is extremely thankful for her years involved with the FOCUS program! 
Digging Deeper: 8 Reasons Children & Teens Get Mixed Up With Prescription Drugs

Read the article to see "eight key reasons why children and adolescents turn to prescription drugs, along with suggestions for how to counteract those underlying causes."
World AIDS Day is December 1!
Every year, on December 1, the world commemorates World AIDS Day. People around the world unite to show support for people living with and affected by HIV and to remember those who lost their lives to AIDS. In 2020, the world’s attention has been focused by the COVID-19 pandemic on health and how pandemics affect lives and livelihoods. COVID-19 is showing once again how health is interlinked with other critical issues, such as reducing inequality, human rights, gender equality, social protection and economic growth. With this in mind, this year the theme of World AIDS Day is “Global solidarity, shared responsibility”.

Visit the FOCUS Facilitator Page at www.thefocusprogram.com for resources to promote World AIDS Day at your school! Please share pictures of your activities on our social media sites.