Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Rahul Singhal . Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
As a sophomore in high school, Rahul Singhal founded United Against Use (UAU), a youth-led substance abuse prevention organization. His mission is to empower his peers to engage in prevention education and seek help by reducing fear of judgment and creating spaces where they can get support.
Now a senior, Rahul has led 11 peer-to-peer prevention workshops with K-8 students at the Dallas Police Department and distributed over 300 educational bookmarks with how to respond in different situations related to substance use (i.e., if you’re offered something, if you’re stressed and feel like using, if you suspect a friend may be using, etc.)
Through sponsorships from CARE Dallas and the Texas State Legislature, UAU has given out more than 10,000 Narcan toolkits and trained 500+ students in their use. Rahul spends 10 to 12 hours each week educating the community and promoting healthy ways to talk about substance abuse as he continues to expand the organization.
What inspires you to volunteer?
During freshman year, my intro to volunteering was through Young Men’s Service League, where I helped at various places around Dallas. I did things like pass food to unhoused individuals and clean up local lakes or parks. My older brother was involved, and friends in college who spoke highly about the opportunities they offer high schoolers.
What really made an impact was when I started working directly with youth. I helped manage kids who are disabled, and we’d do fun activities like play basketball. The experience made me want to work in that realm.
Tell us about your volunteer role with United Against Use.
I founded UAU and lead as CEO. I manage our events, oversee logistics, and support chapters across the DFW area and abroad to ensure other youth volunteers know what they need to do. I work with my team to maintain the website and our social media, as well as ensure everything is running according to plan.
Our organization is run by youth for youth, so we stress hands-on work with middle and high schoolers. I host monthly workshops for middle schoolers at the Dallas Police Department’s Junior Academy to teach them about things like peer pressure and how to handle when a stranger comes up to them. We emphasize being aware of their surroundings and making sure they’re not being exposed to the harms of substance abuse instead of discussions of specific drugs.
Another way we educate is through booths at different schools. We tell students about the harms of substance abuse and how to use Narcan for a fentanyl overdose. We also give it out.
And we’re currently hosting our first soon-to-be-annual Nudgeathon, which we’ve been planning since last summer. It’s a behavioral science event for high schoolers to design their own evidence-based solution, or “nudge,” to substance abuse in their schools. We’ve partnered with Care Dallas to make it a reality.
What do you do at Nudgeathons?
Last week, we had a lecture by Dr. Tim Salmon, a behavioral economist at Southern Methodist University, about what a nudge is, how they appear in the everyday world, and how we can use those same tools and ideas to create interventions for substance abuse. Essentially, we put high schoolers together and give them the tools to build solutions and get engaged.
We have eight teams of one to four people who will pitch solutions to judges. This week, they’re working on those, making a slideshow and writing speeches. On Sunday, they’ll present. The team that wins will get $1,000 in prize money and the opportunity to pilot their solution in schools around the DFW area.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
I’ve always wanted to make an impact on my community and on the world. Two years ago, when my friend passed away in a drunk driving accident, I became more conscious of substance abuse.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
During sophomore year, a lot of my friends were struggling, but they were afraid to speak up about their stress and used alcohol and substances to address it. Stress is one of the main reasons people initially get involved in drugs. These past two years, seeing my peers more open to talking about and addressing substance abuse has been really rewarding.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I used to try to handle it all myself, but when I got involved with Care Dallas, I learned the importance of partnerships. Many nonprofits share our mission. By combining our tools and resources, we can increase our impact.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
When you get more involved, you gain access to so many opportunities to work in a field you’re passionate about and to use those opportunities to further your skills. You also gain access to skills and tools to teach others interested in the same field or who are just trying to contribute.
How can people reading this take steps to make people more comfortable with these types of conversations?
Step out of your comfort zone and speak up. For a lot of my peers, that was the most challenging thing. Having someone you can talk to about what you’re struggling with is also important. If it’s not someone in your family, lean on your school counselor or a friend. And talk openly to middle and even elementary schoolers to make sure they know how to handle stress and uncomfortable situations before they arise.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
If you have an idea and passion, pursue it. Don’t worry about what others think. Don’t focus on what may or may not happen. Work so hard on something that it’s impossible for you not to succeed.
Do you want to make a difference in your community like Rahul? Find local volunteer opportunities.