Salem Youth Advisor Wins Statewide Award at Virtual Kick Butts Day

Young people from the Salem Youth Commission and the Salem Public Schools recently attended Kick Butts Day: Youth Day of Action, a virtual event hosted by The 84 Movement, a statewide movement of youth fighting against the tobacco and vaping industries in Massachusetts.

During an awards ceremony, Laura Assade, adult advisor to the Salem Youth Commission, received the 2022 Adult Advisor Award and was honored for her dedication to youth tobacco prevention and promoting the voice of young people. Laura has created a strong, passionate group of youth leaders in Salem. Award presenters recognized her positive attitude and enthusiasm for elevating the youth voice calling her “an inspiration.”

Laura Assade started the Salem Youth Commission in 2016 when Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll wanted to have voices for Salem youth at public meetings. Over the years, she engaged the youth with many organizations to learn about community projects and local resources. The group has participated in many workshops led by The 84 Movement and has been funded for three mini-grant projects. At The 84 events, Laura can be found sharing her perspective and helping and supporting others.

The more than 200 youth and adults who attended Kick Butts Day from around the Commonwealth work to educate and mobilize young people in their communities about tobacco and vaping industry targeting and the conditions that affect youth tobacco and nicotine use. Kick Butts Day took place at the Massachusetts State House in Boston before the pandemic; now The 84 Movement still offers a safe way to celebrate the annual event.

During another part of the Kick Butts Day event, the youth met virtually with both Representative Paul Tucker and Senator Joan Lovely to discuss their current work. In addition to tobacco, the group is tackling issues that concern their Latinx community including racism and language access. The Salem youth shared their experiences with discrimination at school and an inability to access certain courses and high school opportunities because courses are not offered as part of the ESL program. The group hopes to create more awareness about the experiences of newcomers to Salem and to continue their conversations with the Senator and Representative.

According to Adult Advisor Laura Assade, the group’s goal is to help create new bridges for future multilingual newcomer students and their families so they have better access to language services and education. Laura Assade adds, “I am incredibly proud of our youth group. They have worked very hard to get this project going and I am excited to see where this work takes them and what awareness they are bringing to this issue.”

For more information, visit www.The84.org, mass.gov/vaping and mass.gov/quitting or contact Ashley Hall at Ashley.Hall@glfhc.org or (978) 722-2864.