ABOUT US
Our mission is to engage all sectors of the Tigard community to build positive futures for youth. Our coalition works towards building resiliency, promoting mental wellness, and preventing underage drinking and drug use so youth can reach their full potential.
COMMITTED TO THE HEALTH & WELL-BEING OF OUR YOUTH AND COMMUNITY
We envision a healthy, thriving community where youth and adults achieve their highest potential with positive mental and physical health in a supportive and engaging environment.
OUR HISTORY
Tigard Turns the Tide has been working within the Tigard community for more than 40 years. Since our inception, we have been dedicated to the prevention of underage substance use, and more recently, we have included the promotion of positive mental wellness of our youth to our work. Using upstream prevention efforts, our goal is to reduce risk factors affecting our youth and to build protective factors to empower healthy behaviors and choices.
1982 – Founder Connie Raemaker attends a national conference on drug and alcohol prevention, and then speaks to the school board about findings.
1984 – Connie activates more than 100 parents to prevention efforts, and Tigard High School parents host the first All-Night, Drug-and-Alcohol-Free “Grad Night” for the senior class – one of the first in the state.
1987 – The Superintendent of Tigard-Tualatin School District taps Connie to help develop a drug and alcohol prevention program for students.
1987 – Connie becomes a certified Prevention Specialist in the District, and Stop Tigard Underage Drinking and Drugs (STUDD) Student Club is established at Tigard High School.
1989 – Tigard Turns the Tide becomes a certified nonprofit organization and begins receiving grant funding for growth and expansion throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
2007 – City of Tigard is recognized as a “Best 100 Communities” in the nation, and Tigard High School is certified as a Red Ribbon School.
2023 – The organization receives major grant funding to implement the Communities That Care (CTC) program starting in 2024. CTC is a prevention system, grounded in science, that gives communities the tools to address adolescent health and behavior problems.
2024 – Tigard Turns the Tide hires an executive director and advances to Phase Two of the Communities That Care process.