About Us

Vision: To create a community where all individuals and families are healthy and safe.

Mission: Henrico Too Smart 2 Start Coalition is a 501 (C) 3 Non-Profit Organization that promotes health and wellness in Henrico County with a primary focus on reducing youth substance abuse through education, advocacy and capacity building.

History and Background: In 2014, Henrico Too Smart 2 Start Coalition became a 501©3 organization. It was originally an initiative of Henrico Mental Health Prevention Services to have local agencies collaborate on the issue of youth substance use prevention. In 2016, Henrico Too Smart 2 Start partnered with area agencies to conduct a study on the views and behaviors towards substances by Henrico youth. The study was conducted again in 2018. HTS2S learned that alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana are the most misused substances by Henrico’s youth.  The average age of first use was 14.  On average, experimenting with opioids began at the age of 18, and they began after first experimenting with alcohol, nicotine, and/or marijuana.  The results of the assessments directed the substances on which the coalition focused.  In 2024, the coalition hired its first Executive Director to ensure a staff dedicated to maintaining collaborations, a united focus on youth substance misuse prevention and reduction, and ensure a county-wide impact.  

Approach: HTS2S serves its mission by reducing the use of alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana as well as support organizations that focus on opioid use by 12 to 17-year-old Henrico residents. HTS2S is employing the Strategic Prevention Framework and seven key environmental strategies to affect community level change in Henrico.  These objectives can be more generally described by HTS2S’s four key goals: develop effective community collaborations, raise community awareness, advocate for policies that promote healthy decisions toward substance use, and ensure the sustainability of efforts to prevent and reduce youth substance use.   

Key Plans

For fiscal year 2025 to 2026, the coalition will raise the profile of the coalition by leaders serving in other organizations, supporting the efforts of other organizations, and hosting training sessions that will empower community stakeholders to address youth substance misuse. 

The coalition will raise awareness around youth substance misuse through large scale community activities as well as large scale awareness campaigns via traditional media, streaming services, and social media. 

The coalition will help change the environment by working with retail stores that sell alcohol, nicotine and THC products.

The coalition will continue to host interactive demonstrations, training workshops, and presentations with youth-serving organizations, particularly schools. The coalition will also continue to host workshops that empower parents with schools, neighborhood associations, and increasingly PTAs.