On Friday, April 12, the TEEN Direct Project, an arm of the Council on Substance Abuse (COSA) in Montgomery, will host its second annual Youth Leadership Conference at Wallace Community College – Selma.

The event is free of charge and will kick off at 9 a.m. and run until 1 p.m.

“It gives us a chance to engage and educate the youth on the risks and consequences of substance abuse and poor sexual behavior,” said Project Coordinator Christopher Fields. “We hope that the youth attending this conference will be able to take the information that we present to them back to their schools and communities and share it and positively influence their peers as well.”

The conference, which launched last year at Alabama State University (ASU), coincides with National Youth HIV/AIDS Day and aims to educate young people on a variety of topics.

Fields said that students attending the conference will have an opportunity to hear about college readiness, the risks associated with underage drinking and drug use, the benefits and drawbacks of social media use, bullying and suicide and more.

Additionally, students will be able to participate in giveaways and raffle drawings and collect educational information from a variety of local vendors.

Fields expects this year’s event to attract as many as 200 students from Lowndes and Dallas counties.

The conference is a private event and only students with a signed permission slip will be allowed to attend. For more information or to sign up as a partner, contact the TEEN Direct Project at 334-262-1629.