An organization begun in Ohio in 1982 as a high school program. Its goal was to support and encourage teenagers to be drug-free. By 1984 the program had received much attention and an overwhelming number of requests for help from all over the United States. In response the first national Youth to Youth conference was developed. The annual conference in Ohio spread to regional conferences in California, Idaho, Ohio, and New York.
Adventist Youth to Youth was first promoted in the North American Division in 1988 in the Southern Union, where the first SDA Y2Y conference was held. That conference was such a success that it led to further conferences throughout North America. In February 1990 the Health and Temperance Department of the General Conference adopted Adventist Youth to Youth as its official prevention program for the 1990s.
AY2Y is a positive program that uses local clubs led by youth supported by adult sponsors to reach other youth and children with a drug-free message from their peers. Clubs are started by participants who have attended a four-day conference and have made a commitment to be drug-free. The program focuses on positive alternatives to handling problems so that the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs is seen as unnecessary and undesirable.
The five elements of the AY2Y program are: information, family groups, fun events, community change and outreach, and leadership training.