Drug Free Communities: The Siskiyou Substance
Abuse Coalition (a subcommittee of the Community Services Council) has been the recipient
of up to a five year federal Drug Free Communities grant. During the past year, several
youth substance abuse prevention coalitions have been started throughout the county in
association with local Family Resource Centers.
Recently, a training was offered to local teams. These teams will
follow a scientific approach tailored to their communities for reducing “risk factors”
and strengthening “protective factors.” Various surveys, statistics and studies
will help groups identify whether one or more risk factors are a particular problem for
their area..
“Protective factors” are the assets that improve resistance
to youth drug and alcohol use and abuse. These include: clear standards of behavior;
attachment to family, school and the community; strong relationships with a parent or
caring adult who provides an early and consistent nurturing environment; feelings of
success and a sense of mastery; healthy lifestyles; social and problem-solving skills; and
hope that challenges can be overcome with perseverance and hard work.
“Evidenced based” interventions are actions or programs
that have been scientifically tested and shown to be effective in changing conditions so
that risk factors are lower or resistance higher. When employed, evidenced-based
prevention strategies provide reliable outcomes that can be replicated.
On the individual level, strategies might target high risk youth.
This might include structured positive drug-free activities and an emphasis on social and
personal skill building opportunities. Activities might also involve the whole family and
incorporate parental support networks or parenting classes. Schools could involve both
students and parents in program development and delivery. School policies and sports
programs could support nonuse. On the community level, strategies should reduce the
availability of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs to youth. They should change community
“norms” that promote drug and alcohol use. They should establish local laws,
policies and regulations to prevent youth substance use,
(Common strategies that are not evidenced based and have been shown
not to work are stand alone information sharing and public awareness campaigns; one time
special events with no follow up; alternative activities only without skill-building and
mentoring; and “fear” or “scare” based interventions.)
During the training, local teams began to map or define their local
communities – to take a look at their history and people, identify communities within
communities (cultural, geographic, interest, affiliation, age.) The groups began to
describe how people involve themselves with their community (faith, sports, clubs,
veterans, schools, etc.) They began to access existing reports such as the CA Healthy Kids Survey and public health data which can help to pinpoint
problems. These can be followed up with in-depth interviews, focus groups and listening
sessions. In the end, the groups will come up with problem statements that will help them
focus their efforts, such as: “non-medical use of prescription drugs by teens in
Yreka” or “alcohol use by teens in Happy Camp.”
After the problem statement has been selected, the teams will look at
why the problem exists. This can include general factors such as availability,
advertisement, teen attitudes, social norms, etc. It can be further narrowed to factors in
the specific locality, such as: “store windows on main street are covered with ads
for alcohol” or “sponsors of local events include beer or tobacco companies.”
General targeted strategies might include such things as: provide
information; change physical design of the environment; incentives/disincentives; change
policies or regulations; provide support; or build skills. Specific local targeted
strategies might include: physical design – place products behind a counter; post
signs such as “we don’t sell to minors;” train merchants to check ID’s;
increase outside lighting and monitoring to dissuade “shoulder taps” by youth
looking for adults to buy them alcohol; trace the bar codes on empties found in possession
of youth to see where they were purchased; reward and recognize cooperating merchants.
In the end, the team should have data supported: (1) problem
statements, such as – “underage drinking;” (2) identified root causes, such
as - “availability;” and (3) local conditions pinpointed – such as- “retailers are selling alcohol to minors.”
These should drive the coalition’s specific plan of action.
The various local community teams are looking for youth and adult
volunteers. Anyone interested should contact their local Family/Community Resource Center
to see if a group has been started. Also, the Siskiyou Substance Abuse Coalition is
looking for volunteers to help guide and support the countywide effort. The group will
select new officers this month. It generally meets on third Mondays of the month at noon
at the County Behavioral Health building. For more information, please contact CSC at (530) 926-5127. |
