[News Release] – The City of Santa Clarita will host a “Drug Free Youth in Town Appreciation Night” to highlight the accomplishments made in local schools by members and organizers of the DFYIT program. The event will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, May 5 at the Santa Clarita Activities Center, located at 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway.

“DFYIT” (Drug Free Youth in Town) is a free, school-based, voluntary, anti-drug club for high school teens. The club is run by kids, for kids, allowing teens to thrive in a drug-free setting with like-minded peers. Since its launch in Santa Clarita in 2012, DFYIT has gained more than 1,200 student members, and has reached thousands more by spreading the program’s drug-free message through events, speaker engagements and activities both on and off school campuses.

“The City of Santa Clarita is deeply dedicated to ensuring the health of our local youth, and regularly partners with the Sheriff’s Department, local organizations and the community to educate kids on the dangers of drugs,” said Mayor Laurene Weste. “The DFYIT program is an important part of this effort, because it actively encourages, empowers, and recognizes the young people in Santa Clarita who make the choice to be drug-free.”

The Drug Free Youth in Town Appreciation Night will highlight the impact DFYIT has made in Santa Clarita schools and the community, and will recognize the officers of each of the campus clubs and the teen students who help facilitate the program’s anti-drug awareness assemblies to local sixth graders.  The event will include student testimonials, video presentations, opening comments from Mayor Laurene Weste, and acknowledgement of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department and other community partners.

DFYIT is a collaborative effort among the City of Santa Clarita, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County, and the William S. Hart Union High School District.

For additional details on the DFYIT program, contact Janine Prado, Human Services Administrator for the City’s Community Services Division, at (661) 250-3716 or visit dfyitscv.com.