Here's a question that's been nagging at me: We've invested decades building incredible prevention programs for young people. We've got evidence-based curricula, school-based interventions, and community coalitions focused on keeping kids safe and substance-free.

But what happens to those young people when they graduate and enter the workforce? Do we just... hope for the best?

That's the challenge my friend Joel Bennett brought to my attention in our latest Prevention Leaders Podcast conversation. As President and CEO of Organizational Wellness and Learning Systems (OWLS), Joel has spent his career asking the hard question: Why does prevention seem to end at 18?

The Problem We're Not Talking About

Joel put it bluntly: the prevention field has become "parentified." We've gotten so focused on helping children that we've forgotten about the adults raising them, working alongside them, and influencing their communities every single day.

Think about it. A young person goes through an amazing prevention program in high school, learns healthy coping strategies, and develops strong decision-making skills. Then they enter the workforce where their new boss says, "Hey, let's grab drinks after work," and suddenly they're navigating a completely different set of social norms and pressures—with none of the support systems they had as a student.

Even worse? The parents we're counting on to reinforce prevention messages at home might be struggling with their own workplace stress, using alcohol to cope, or working in environments that actually promote unhealthy behaviors.

Culture Is Prevention (And We're Missing It)

One of Joel's most powerful insights hit me like a two-by-four: workplace culture IS prevention. It can either be the biggest risk factor or the strongest protective factor in someone's life.

Organizations that normalize after-work drinking, that pile on stress without offering support, that treat employees like widgets instead of whole human beings—they're actively working against everything we're trying to accomplish in prevention. Meanwhile, workplaces that create psychological safety, encourage open conversations, and build in regular check-ins become powerful prevention environments without ever calling it that.

This is especially true in high-risk professions like the military and first responders, where drinking cultures can be deeply entrenched. As someone who served and knows that world intimately, Joel's perspective on this resonates deeply with my own experience.

Simple Tools That Actually Work

The Power of Presence Check-Ins: Start meetings by asking people to rate their presence on a 1-10 scale. If someone shares a low number, give them space to talk about it if they want. It sounds simple, but it creates psychological safety and helps people feel seen.

The A-Game vs. B-Game Exercise: Help people identify what brings out their best (A-game) versus what causes them to struggle (B-game). This isn't therapy—it's practical self-awareness that leads to better choices and stronger resilience.

Normalize the Real Conversations: Instead of surface-level "How are you?" exchanges, create space for authentic dialogue about challenges, stress, and support needs.

🎧 Why This Matters for All of Us

Here's what really struck me about my conversation with Joel: prevention providers are burning out at alarming rates. We're so focused on helping everyone else that we've neglected our own wellness. And if we're not taking care of ourselves, how can we effectively serve our communities?

Joel pointed out something uncomfortable but true—many people enter the prevention field to work through their own wounds, which is beautiful and important. But if we don't do our own healing work while building our careers, we risk staying stuck in patterns that limit our effectiveness.

The solution isn't to avoid hiring people with lived experience. It's to create workplaces and systems that support the whole person—their professional growth AND their personal wellness journey.

Your Next Step

As I reflected on this conversation, I realized how much my own trauma recovery work has informed my approach to prevention leadership. Taking time to unpack my military experiences and build healthier coping strategies didn't just help me personally—it made me a better coach, facilitator, and advocate for others.

If you're a prevention leader, coalition coordinator, or anyone working in this space, I encourage you to try Joel's A-Game vs. B-Game exercise. I've created a free Resilience Toolbox PDF that walks you through this process, plus includes the "Best Self" activity that was a game-changer for me personally.

🎧 Listen Now

This post only scratches the surface of my conversation with Joel. In the full episode, we dive deeper into:

How to weave prevention into workplace wellness without calling it prevention
Specific strategies for supporting adults in transition (18-25 year olds)
Why employee assistance programs are underutilized and how to change that
Joel's "ontological wellbeing" concept and what it means for prevention work

Whether you're leading a prevention organization, managing a coalition, or simply wanting to create a healthier workplace culture, this conversation offers concrete tools you can start using today.

▶️ Listen on your favorite platform:

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Remember: prevention doesn't end at graduation. The adults in our communities need support, tools, and healthy environments just as much as the young people we serve. Let's expand our vision and create prevention systems that truly span the lifespan.

We've Mastered Youth Prevention. What About the Adults?