U.S. Partnership Expands Prevention Services for Bermuda Youth

U.S. Prevention Team Expands Bermuda Partnership to Help DNDC Reach Children, Parents and Teens

20 April, 2026

The Department for National Drug Control (DNDC) has marked the latest step in its partnership with Prevention Training Services, a U.S.-based charitable training organisation that works with prevention professionals across jurisdictions to share practical strategies, professional training and youth-focused prevention approaches.

That partnership was highlighted last week when a visiting group of 29 prevention professionals and supporters, known as “prevention innovators”, arrived in Bermuda aboard the Norwegian Breakaway and met with DNDC representatives at the Royal Naval Dockyard.

The group had been taking part in a prevention workshop while on the cruise and used the Bermuda visit to connect directly with DNDC staff, exchange ideas and build on an existing professional relationship with the department.

Their work centres on helping prevention professionals better engage children, teenagers and families before substance misuse takes hold.

The visit gave DNDC staff direct exposure to current thinking and practical methods being used in other communities to reach young people more effectively.

Those discussions covered how prevention messages can be delivered in ways that are more relatable to children and teens, how parents can be better supported, and how professionals can respond to the social and emotional pressures that often sit alongside early substance use risk.

The highlight of the visit came on Friday, when the Acting Minister of National Security, the Hon. Jaché Adams, JP, MP, met representatives of the group alongside DNDC Director Joanne Dean and department staff.

During the meeting, the Acting Minister welcomed the visitors, heard about their work and learned more about how continued collaboration with Prevention Training Services can support Bermuda’s prevention efforts.

As part of the visit, Mitchell Moore, a U.S.-based trainer and instructor with Prevention Training Services, presented the Acting Minister with a proclamation formally recognising the shared commitment between the visiting prevention professionals and Bermuda’s DNDC to continue working together in the spirit of “prevention is better together.”

Acting Minister Adams stated: “This partnership is valuable because it gives Bermuda access to a wider community of prevention professionals who are focused on what works when trying to reach children and teenagers before substance misuse begins.

“Prevention is not just about warning young people away from drugs. It is also about understanding the influences around them, how they process risk, how families are coping, and how trusted adults can step in early with the right message and support.”

Mrs Dean said: “For the DNDC, the benefit of this partnership is very practical. It allows our team to hear directly from prevention specialists who are working every day on youth engagement, family-based prevention, leadership development and early intervention.

“That kind of exchange helps us sharpen our own thinking about programme design, community messaging and the ways we communicate with children, adolescents and parents.”

Ms Shavana Wilson, DNDC Prevention Officer, added, “Prevention work has become more complex because young people do not make decisions in isolation.

“Their choices are shaped by home life, school experiences, social influences, trauma, mental well-being, identity, belonging and what they see online.”

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