Thrive Mat-Su uses low-cost events to prevent youth substance abuse

What you need to know:

• The Thrive Mat-Su program brings together more than a dozen local organizations to combat youth substance abuse through low-cost events, education, community partnerships and prevention resources.
• Positive activities are central to Thrive’s mission. Under the leadership of new Coalition and Youth Engagement Manager Erin Robinson, the program connects young people with drug- and alcohol-free events, mentorship, skill-building opportunities and healthy social connections.
• Thrive also encourages community-wide involvement in prevention efforts. Robinson urges parents to have early and ongoing conversations with their children about substance use and encourages local residents and organizations to help young people feel valued, supported and connected.
• Short on time but need the local news scoop? Get free weekly news in your inbox for Mat-Su, from Mat-Su.

When it comes to drug and alcohol abuse, a few crucial years can make a lifetime of difference.

According to the Partnership to End Addiction, people who begin using substances before age 18 face a one-in-four chance of developing an addiction, compared with one in 25 for those who start later.

Erin Robinson is working to change that. As the new coalition and youth engagement manager for Thrive Mat-Su, her job is to help young people find positive, constructive ways to avoid the all-too-common traps associated with drugs and alcohol.

“From a pure numbers perspective, if a youth tries that first drink or tries that first pill or that first hit in their adolescent years, they are far more likely to abuse those substances into adulthood.”

Thrive is a United Way program that serves as a coalition of more than a dozen local groups working to combat youth substance abuse. Its mission includes “building social connections, helping young people develop strong identities, and creating opportunities for mentorship, skills-building and fun,” according to its website.

Robinson said Thrive uses school surveys and state youth behavior data to identify local needs and help community partners shape their prevention programs.

Robinson joined Thrive in 2025 and was named to her current position in August. Since then, she has worked with local nonprofits, schools and other community groups to coordinate prevention efforts and connect organizations with data and resources.

“The goal of the coalition is that we can help be a catalyst for those movements and provide the information and the resources to kind of guide all of those different agencies when it comes to prevention efforts.”

According to the state of Alaska, 55 Mat-Su residents died from drug overdoses in 2024. Every death represents a tragic loss, and Robinson said Thrive’s goal is to save as many people as possible from that fate.

“Even if we save one person, one young person from going down that path. To me, that's a success,” she said. “And of course we want to save all of them, but we meet them where we can.”

It’s not an easy job. Peer pressure, the media and the allure of trying something new can strongly influence adolescents, whose brains are still developing.

“It’s a daunting task and an uphill battle in many ways.”

Thrive’s strategy for keeping kids off drugs is simple: Give them something else to do.

“If kids are having fun in a healthy way, they're not going to be turning to substances,” she said.

Thrive offers a parade of youth activities throughout the year, including a recent Halloween Spooktacular event at Palmer Junior Middle School. The events provide fun activities in a healthy, drug-free setting. Tickets typically cost $20 or less, but Robinson said scholarships are available for children whose families cannot afford the cost.

“We never want money to be the reason that somebody doesn't come to one of our events.”

As a mother of two teenagers herself, Robinson said one of the most important ways to keep kids off drugs starts at home. She said parents should talk with their children early and often about drugs and alcohol rather than leaving them to learn about the substances from their peers.

“Sometimes people think bringing these things up is a bad thing, like it'll make them start thinking about those things and want to do them,” she said. “But studies have really shown that having those conversations with your kid makes it far less likely that they will engage in substance use.”

Robinson said she’s excited about her new role with Thrive and finds working with young people incredibly rewarding.

“It's very rewarding and I think fun is not an inaccurate word either,” she said.

Robinson encourages anyone interested in helping to contact Thrive or one of the other nonprofits in the Mat-Su Valley working to prevent drug and alcohol abuse. She said it’s important for kids to see how much they matter to the community.

“We want them to know that they matter. And when they see the community turn out like that, it really reinforces that message.”

To learn more about Thrive Mat-Su, visit thrivematsu.org.

Matt Tunseth is a freelance writer from Southcentral Alaska. Write to him at matthew.tunseth@gmail.com.