Debby Jones Is the Spark Plug Behind YouthThink
By Rodger Nichols
For 20 years, Debby Jones has been the lone employee of YouthThink, leading a group of public and private volunteers focused on preventing alcohol and substance use among young people in Wasco County.
While attending a Criminal Justice Commission summit March 6 through March 7 in Salem, Debby realized the audience, which focused on the problem from a prison perspective, was not the most receptive.
“They were sucking up a lot of the oxygen in the room,” she says. “I finally just said, ‘Please try and understand where I’m coming from. I’m very frustrated, because there are things that we can do that cost a whole lot less money (than incarceration), are a lot more fun, and will get you a return on your investment.”
She told the group she doesn’t like to say she’s supposed to be a certified prevention specialist.
“That has a negative connotation,” she says. “I’m a hope dealer. Yeah, things are rough out there, no doubt about it, but there’s tons of hope we need to connect to. Youth need connection, they need connection to positive adult role models, early and often.”
Getting Ahead of the Problem
Debby puts her beliefs into practice with YouthThink. She says this is not your grandfather’s “Just Say No” program. She questions why youth should say no when they are surrounded by a culture that glorifies alcohol use and legalizes drug use.
Debby wants to get upstream of the problem and deal with why young people choose to use in the first place.
“I ask kids why they think kids their age get involved in making risky decisions,” she says. “They used to always say it was peer pressure and curiosity. Now what I hear more—and which really makes me sad—is, ‘That’s the way I cope with my feelings.’ They’re self-medicating.”
It doesn’t help that popular media gives youngsters the wrong impression of the way grown-ups live.
“That they think the majority of adults in this town get high or wasted every weekend,” Debby says.
Children also believe their peers are heavily involved. A recent survey of local ninth through 12th graders found 70% of them thought their peers drank alcohol in the past 30 days, 71% thought they used marijuana, and 72% thought they had vaped.
Survey results show the actual use of alcohol by high schoolers locally was 8%, 5.2% for marijuana, and 6.5% for vaping.
“That doesn’t mean they haven’t ever tried any of these substances, but they are not currently experimenting or using,” Debby says. “They are making great choices.”
Making a Difference Close to Home
Debby is a hometown girl and a former high school athlete. Except for her college years at Brigham Young University, she has always lived in The Dalles. Her degree is in recreation management and youth leadership, though that was not her first choice.
“My dream job was to be a writer for Sports Illustrated,” she says. “But when I was being interviewed for a scholarship, 1 of the men said, ‘Well, you’ll never be able to get in the locker room, so I don’t even know why you’re worried about that.’ But that was quite a while ago.”
After college, she worked at The Dalles Athletic Club, where she ultimately became assistant manager. That was followed by 14 years with the Parks and Recreation Department before landing her present position with YouthThink.
Though Debby has been the face of the organization for 2 decades, she gives credit to Dawn Salee Justesen, who was in charge when the program was called Wasco County Prevention Coalition under the Commission on Children and Families.
“Dawn was the first 1 that got us a federal Drug-Free Communities grant,” Debby says.
Debby was working at the Parks and Recreation Department at the time, and the grant funded a number of park programs.
Getting Kids to Buy In
Early in her tenure, Debby changed the name of the organization. When she asked school-aged children what they thought an organization called the Wasco County Prevention Coalition was about, they guessed it might be where you go to learn what you need to get your driver’s license.
“We asked the kids to help come up with the name,” she says. “YouthThink was to try and get adults to start thinking about youth. Then they took ownership and realized that the youth needed to just flat out start thinking beyond 5 minutes themselves. So that’s how YouthThink came to be.”
Debby says she’s most proud of a middle-school program called What’s Strong With You?, its name purposely flipped from “What’s wrong with you?” The program focuses on young people who might be on the brink of behavioral or other problems.
“We have an incredible person that runs that for us, Jensie Bryan,” Debby says. “She’ll say, ‘Hey, do you know why you and I are sitting down together?’ And the kids always say, ‘Well, I’m in trouble.’ She goes, ‘Oh, no, actually, your teacher told us 1 of your biggest strengths is that you are not ever afraid to speak out in front of people. And so, that is actually 1 of your strengths. I know right now you’re getting in trouble for it. So, we want to sit down and work with you on what’s going on in that moment.’
“We increase their emotional literacy and then work with them to be able to say, ‘Hey, when you get this feeling again, which you will, here’s some different tools, maybe coping mechanisms.’”
The results have been encouraging. In the past 2 years, 134 youths have been involved in the program. Of that number, 92% saw an improvement in nonparental adult support, 71% improved in impulsivity/aggressive behaviors, and 63% increased their school attachment. The good numbers reflect the good work being done by Debby and her volunteers.
“If I had my way—in Debby’s world—the drinking age, smoking age, all that would be 25,” she says. “Why do car companies say you can’t rent a car until 25? They want that brain fully developed. We should do the same as a society."