March 2020
The MPOWRD program is now the official name for the former non-profit organization, Teen Addiction Anonymous. This rebranding has been approved by Teen AA’s Board of Directors as MPOWRD has evolved into an empowerment program for teens making positive lifetime decisions.
MPOWRD.org evolved from the highly successful results of teen investment within peer leadership and community outreach.
We celebrate this evolution as teens continue to “raise the bar” through peer interaction, discussion and unconditional support.
September 2019
Our Board of Directors welcomes three new members!
Holly Figueroa, Kiersten Walker, David Hurst
Holly, Cultural Competency Administrator of Tribal Services, represents our tribal communities in northern Arizona. Kiersten is a certified school psychologist serving public schools for over twenty years. David is Cognia’s Senior Vice-President of Global Evaluation Services.
June 2019
MPOWRD announces that its Online Training is now available for certified high school and middle school staff! This four-hour program will provide an opportunity for obtaining the ongoing weekly curriculum manual, observing teen engagement and leadership within MPOWRD meetings, and becoming qualified to run MPOWRD meetings as a trained facilitator.
Certification will be available once meetings are implemented at each site with facilitation by the individual trained facilitators.
January 2018
The Yavapai/Apache community has committed to an MPOWRD training for their community! They hope to utilize all three programs (MPOWRD, 2B MPOWRD and M-Squared) by the end of February.
January 2017
Certification was awarded to Native American leader Shawn Namoki, whose dedication to Native Youth has provided MPOWRD meetings through the support of the Hopi Foundation.
The first training in Holyoak, Massachusetts was held under the Mass Mutual grant. Five schools in Hampden County, Massachusetts will be offering the MPOWRD Leadership Program in the Fall. This opportunity was made available through the support of employees and matching funds within the organization.
June 2017
2B MPOWRD for middle school is officially published after being tested within middle school populations in the Phoenix area for the past two years. M-Squared for young adults is now available for youth advocates. (ages 18-24)
December 2017
Anaheim School District in Orange County trains social workers from ten high schools and four middle schools! They hope to use MPOWRD as both a support program and in lieu of suspension.
November 2016
Teen Addiction Anonymous’ MPOWRD Leadership Program was awarded a $100,000 grant through the Mass Mutual Community Impact Grant and a $50,000 grant for Orange County to provide MPOWRD scholarship opportunities in both Massachusetts and California.
October 2016
The Bashas’ Art Gallery hosted a private showing to help Teen AA (MPOWRD) raise funds for MPOWRD scholarships for Native Youth organizations. The celebration included honoring the advocacy of Michael Allison, a tribal liaison from the Navajo reservation, as a proponent for Native Youth support.
August 2016
An MPOWRD facilitator training program was held in Flagstaff, Arizona, for representatives supporting Native Youth. The consensus from the leadership within this community was that Native children could benefit from each part of the MPOWRD program. Tribal outreach was encouraged to implement cultural practices within the meetings offered to their youth.
June 2016
MPOWRD Teen Ambassadors were invited to address Flagstaff, Arizona community members who were interested in investing in supporting our Native Youth.
The Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections awarded Teen AA’s MPOWRD Leadership Program as their 2016 Outstanding Community Partner Award.
March 2016
Michael Allison, Native American Liaison for the Arizona Department of Health, and the Cultural Competency Directors meet with representatives from Teen AA to discuss the MPOWRD program for Native teen outreach.
Teen Ambassadors from Millennium High School lead a panel presentation to Native Health Representatives from Arizona.
January 2016
Arizona State University commits to the exploration and development of a logic model for the MPOWRD Leadership and Prevention Program. This effort will involve multiple levels of research, including student and counselor interviews as well as group participation in meetings.
November 2015
Argosy University completes exploratory research at the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections investigating why juveniles choose Teen Addiction Anonymous (MPOWRD) as their favorite support group. All housing units run meetings under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Jones with clinicians implementing facilitation.
October 2015
Teen Addiction Anonymous re-brands program meetings to MPOWRD for Leadership and Prevention due to teen requests. Teen feel that their organization has evolved into an opportunity to reach out to others through personal empowerment. Meetings are unique to their structured and selected curriculum and do not follow the format of traditional 12 step meetings.
August 2015
A conference with Kids at Hope and Teen Addiction Anonymous creates outreach in behalf of Native Youth, their voices and their communities.
Read here about Dr. Don Covey, State Superintendent of Maricopa County Schools, recognize four Arizona teens as Teen AA Ambassadors.
2011
Social Venture Partner Award winner –
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Judges Award
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Audience Award
2010
Teen Addiction Anonymous breaks ground in training both Paradise Valley School District and Phoenix Union HSD.
The Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections invests in Teen Addiction Anonymous, by training staff and utilizing meetings in their facilities.
2009
AA World Services has no objections to Teen AA’s modified 12 steps as used within the context of its program. Both Teen AA and AA World services agree that there is no relationship within these two organizations as Teen AA is an independent program, created and developed with teens.
Efforts in Washington DC earn written endorsements of Teen Addiction Anonymous by Congressman Brian Baird (WA) and Congressman John Shadegg (AZ).
2008
Teen Addiction Anonymous officially becomes a non-profit organization representing the voices of the teens who conceptualized and contributed to this program for youth development and support.