Substance abuse (legal & illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco) continues to be a concern for youth in Webster County. The children living in Webster County have experienced losses because of drug use, activity and violence in and out of their homes. To address this need, the Webster County 4-H Youth Development program introduced Health Rocks! to students in 6th grade at all four local elementary schools.

5 Webster County Teens from Webster County were trained in the Health Rocks Curriculum.  After the training, the Webster County teens had to prepare a lesson from the National Health Rocks curriculum and presented the lesson during the Health Rocks Day Camp for 185 youth from Webster County.  All students received 6 hours of Health Rock curriculum education and were able to participate in various camp activities, developing life skills.  The impact the Webster County teens had on the 185 youth from Webster County was huge. The impact on the youth, teens, and adults involved was significant. Teens and adults formed youth adult partnerships, working together to educate the elementary students participating in the program. 

Teens developed leadership skills to teach the curriculum and built a working relationship with adults to plan and implement their lessons. This was the teen's first experience teaching, planning, and leading lessons. Their leadership and communication skills were all greatly enhanced by leading the Health ROCKS curriculum. Health Rocks follow-up surveys demonstrated a huge impact on youth participants. Youth surveys overwhelmingly demonstrated that participants knew the importance of making wise decisions and the harm that can be caused to the body by drugs, alcohol, and other harmful substances.