Nearly 300 Granite Staters were meeting Monday to discuss substance misuse, trauma, loneliness and other issues New Hampshire youth are dealing with.The NH Prevention Conference is bringing together local and national experts to share strategies related to behaviors monitored by the Youth Behavior Risk Factor Survey."There are a number of kids who feel so lonely, they don't know who to turn to," said clinical psychologist and author Robert Brooks.Brooks shared a message about the importance of resiliency and connection for young people as the keynote speaker at Monday's conference in Concord. He said that connection with a supportive adult can build resiliency and prevent children from feeling isolated. >> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <<"Those are the kids sometimes who cope by withdrawing from school or using drugs or alcohol – anything to deal with the pain," Brooks said.Conference attendees discussed issues including vaping, marijuana use, suicide and isolation. "I think one of the things that we see is kind of like a sense of loneliness and disconnection and kind of wanting to be involved more, but maybe not sure how to be involved," said Marissa Carlson, executive director of the NH Teen Institute.Carlson noted that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many children are behind in their social skills."We find that some of our high school students are a little bit closer to some of the middle school skills in that," she said.Keeping that connection with children has led Keene High School to change the way it suspends students."We don't do an in-school suspension room anymore," said Alyssa Bender-Jesse, Keene youth services manager. "It's all restorative practices and engagement to make kids feel like they actually do belong, and it's not just sending kids out, like normal suspension does."Organizers said the goal is for people who attend the conference to take the tools they learned there back to help their communities.