Prevention Workshops for Parents of Adolescents and Teens
At El Futuro we know how important the communication link between parents and children is in raising children. In today’s age, we’re all so busy that it’s hard to establish that all-important trust to make those all-important conversations happen. With our prevention workshops for parents and adults who work with young people, our goal is to provide the necessary tools to recognize the early signs of alcohol and drug use in adolescents, improve communication with them, and know when to seek professional help.
“Sin Ataduras” Program
Through our Sin Ataduras “No Strings Attached” program, we offer various workshops for parents of teens that seek to raise awareness among youth and adults about substance use prevention and its effects. These workshops include:
Drills: Designed with bilingual instruction and a focus on Latino youth, this immersive simulation program ensures inclusion and cultural relevance. It provides an in-depth understanding of the risks of substance use. Teens don “fatal vision goggles” to simulate the effects of alcohol consumption while navigating a go-kart track.
“Las Señales Tempranas” Early Signs Workshop: This session offers a safe space for parents to discuss the challenges of raising their teens in a new cultural context. Practical strategies are offered while also reinforcing solidarity with other parents who have experienced a similar situation.
“Free Living: Your Path, Your Choice”: This four-session workshop aims to provide high school students with critical knowledge about the effects and negative consequences associated with alcohol, marijuana, vaping, and other substances.
“I learned a lot; I learned that our children have more contact with drugs in schools, so it is important to talk to your children and have that conversation.”
Alvely Alcántara, LCSW
Rossy C. Garcia, MEd 
Katy Sims, MD 
Everardo Aviles, LCSW, LCAS (Eve)
As a medical anthropologist and social work researcher, Dr. Gulbas’ research embodies interdisciplinarity through the integration of applied theories of health and human development with qualitative and ethnographic methodologies. Her work seeks to understand how people—children, families, and providers—navigate complex sociocultural landscapes in the pursuit of mental health. Most of her work, to date, focuses attention on developing more robust interpretations of suicide risk. With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health, this body of research has contributed to advancements in theoretical and empirical knowledge of the broader contexts within which youth suicide risk is situated. 
R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is a developmental psychologist and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the principal investigator of a study that examines the impact of immigration-related threat and stress on school communities. She earned a PhD in developmental psychology from Columbia University and hold a BA in human biology from Stanford University. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first gen college student.
Dr. Parra-Cardona is an Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (SHSSW) at the University of Texas at Austin. At the SHSSW, he serves as Coordinator for Mexico and Latin American initiatives. He also serves as Area Director for Research at the UT Austin Latino Research Institute. Dr. Parra-Cardona’s program of research is focused on the cultural adaptation of evidence-based parenting interventions for low-income Latinx populations in the US and Latin America.
Bianka Reese, PhD, MSPH is a research scientist and program evaluator specializing in adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her previous research in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her work as the Research and Evaluation Manager at SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led largescale evaluations of multilevel, community-based sexual health promotion initiatives and research projects aimed at elevating the voices of diverse youth in North Carolina. Dr. Reese is currently the Senior Research Strategist at Creative Research Solutions, LLC, an award-winning national evaluation, research, and assessment firm.
Tania Connaughton-Espino, MPH is an independent researcher focused on adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her interest in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her previous work with SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led the training and evaluation department, conducted capacity-building workshops for youth serving professionals including on the topic of how to be more affirming of LGBTQ youth, and from her extensive experience working with the Latinx population in NC.
Maru Gonzalez, EdD is an Assistant Professor and Youth Development Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. Her areas of inquiry include youth development with a focus on activism, social justice, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people across familial, school, and community contexts. 
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD
Hector Y. Adames, PsyD