About Us

Northern Lights Youth Services, Inc. (NLYS), is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation headquartered in Hillsboro, ND. NLYS was formed in 2003 with the primary task of providing oversight to the Northern Lights SADD program, but its mission goes further than that. The mission statement of NLYS is “to lead in the development and support of positive youth development,” and its vision is “youth realizing their potential”.

NLYS will continue to strategically add programming and services to support its mission and the young people of our region, and to create a supportive environment for them in our schools, communities, and region.

We have always sought new ways to reach young people directly and not be solely reliant upon school-based chapters. We believe in taking a holistic approach to prevention and positive youth development. Rather than focusing our efforts around specific issues, we prefer to address the whole person and cultivate an attitude and environment in which youth want to make the right decisions.

Our newest initiative, called Northern Lights Pulse, strives to help teens and young adults better understand themselves, others, and the world in which they live. We hope that it will be a tool utilized by youth groups and organizations, as well as individuals who want to learn more about the issues that they are facing. We do not have all the answers, but we hope to be able to set our young people in the right directions to find the resources that they are looking for. There are several facets to this service, including this website, a blog, a podcast, and a social media presence whose sole purpose is to help you, our young people.

Northern Lights Advisory Board

The Northern Lights Advisory Board, or NLAB, is a collection of student leaders who have been selected to serve as the voice of the Northern Lights region and represent their home communities.