‘High Energy’ PSA features community

Socorro County Options, Prevention and Education has partnered with Vive18 to create positive content featuring the Thrive365 youth council and Socorro County community members into various public service announcements that will be used to highlight Socorro County outreach endeavors.

“Vive18’s mission is to save young lives from addiction and boredom with relevant, engaging and high-energy drug prevention programs,” Jake White, co-founder of Vive18, said.

Vive18 was founded by White and Tomas Barraza, who present at school assemblies, provide social emotional curriculums and create social content with the mission to save lives and challenge culture. They believe that young people shouldn’t feel left out for making healthy choices. By helping youth make educated decisions about drugs, they challenge students to rewrite social norms around drug use while protecting their friends and their future.

Bernadette Lopez, Youth Outreach Coordinator for SCOPE Health Council said that in searching for youth outreach ideas and potential speakers for their upcoming Youth Summit in April, she discovered Vive18 through an online search.

“I was intrigued by what they stand for and what they offer in regard to youth outreach and prevention education. I felt their mission closely aligned with what we are doing at SCOPE with Socorro County,” Lopez said.

Lopez said that, together with Barraza, they interviewed community members including students and staff members at Sarracino Middle School and community members from Magdalena, Alamo and at New Mexico Tech. Veronica Espinoza, SCOPE’s Harm Reduction Specialist assisted, as well.

“Our Media Director, Tomas Barraza, worked with Bernadette Lopez for months preparing for the day of filming. As a national drug prevention movement, we are so impressed with the work Bernadette is doing with Thrive365. It’s going to be life-changing for so many and will be truly impactful for the community,” White said.

“All interview participants were delighted to take part in the interviews and highlight positive things about Socorro County,” Lopez said. “Many of the people interviewed grew up here and hold Socorro near and dear to their hearts.”

Lopez said that she hopes that when the public service announcements are viewed that the community will be inspired to continue to advocate for a safer and healthier community.
She said that they are still awaiting the final product of the film and recommends following them on social media and their website for the content.

“You may just see your beautiful faces telling us wonderful things about Socorro County. We thank everyone who participated and supported this project,” Lopez said.