Sunshine Place Inc

SUN PRAIRIE WELLNESS COALITION YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION INITIATIVE - SUN PRAIRIE WELLNESS COALITION PROJECT ABSTRACT SUN PRAIRIE IS THE SECOND FASTEST GROWING CITY IN DANE COUNTY. ACCORDING TO ESTIMATES FROM THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, THE CITY GREW 6.73% FROM 2020 TO 2023. SUN PRAIRIE IS A SUBURBAN COMMUNITY LOCATED IN NORTHEASTERN DANE COUNTY, IN SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN. THE COMMUNITY CURRENTLY CONSISTS OF 36,653 RESIDENTS, 9,053 OF WHICH ARE YOUTH. THE CITY IS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE CITY OF MADISON, WHICH IS THE STATE’S CAPITAL. THE COMMUNITY IS BORDERED BY INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 90, CONNECTING CHICAGO, MADISON AND MINNEAPOLIS AND BY INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 94, CONNECTING TO THE MILWAUKEE AREA, BOTH OF WHICH ARE KNOWN FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING ACTIVITIES. DANE COUNTY, AND NEIGHBORING ROCK COUNTY TO THE SOUTH, ARE BOTH DEA IDENTIFIED HIGH INTENSITY DRUG TRAFFICKING AREAS (HIDTAS). THE CULTURE OF ALCOHOL IN WISCONSIN IS VERY STRONG, AND SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1848, THE STATE HAS HAD NO OVERARCHING STATE POLICY OR STATE LIQUOR POLICING. THIS LACK OF FORMAL OVERSIGHT HAS RESULTED IN WISCONSIN HAVING ONE OF THE HIGHEST RATIOS OF ALCOHOL OUTLETS TO THE POPULATION WITHIN THE UNITED STATES. SUBSTANCE MISUSE IS A SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE NEGATIVELY IMPACTING INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES ACROSS THE STATE OF WISCONSIN, THROUGHOUT DANE COUNTY, AND IN THE SUN PRAIRIE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT GEOGRAPHIC AREA. THE NEED TO IMPLEMENT YOUTH FOCUSED EVIDENCE AND RESEARCH-BASED PRIMARY PREVENTION STRATEGIES IS CLEARER NOW THAN EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN PROGRAMS, POLICIES AND PRACTICES IS PROVEN TO STOP SUBSTANCE USE AMONG YOUTH BEFORE IT BEGINS. THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL CULTURE, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, AND RAPIDLY GROWING SIZE OF SUN PRAIRIE POSE INCREASED OPPORTUNITY TO ACCESS AND UNIQUE PREVENTION CHALLENGES FOR YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE. UNFORTUNATELY, TOBACCO USE THROUGH VAPING DEVICES IS NOW TRENDING IN SUN PRAIRIE. FOCUS GROUPS AND KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS SHOW THAT YOUTH HAVE ACCESS TO TOBACCO VAPING DEVICES IN THE COMMUNITY, THROUGH FRIENDS, AND AT SCHOOL. SCHOOL DISTRICT DATA SHOW THAT AODA BEHAVIORAL REFERRALS ARE ON THE RISE, WITH 95% BEING TOBACCO RELATED AND OFTEN WITH VAPE DEVICES BEING USED IN THE BATHROOMS. THE PERVASIVE ALCOHOL ABUSE CULTURE IS CONTRIBUTING TO EASY SOCIAL ACCESS AND A LOW PERCEPTION OF HARM AMONG SUN PRAIRIE YOUTH. STUDENTS REPORT THE MOST COMMON ACCESS TO ALCOHOL IS FROM THEIR OWN PARENTS. THE SUN PRAIRIE WELLNESS COALITION (SPWC) HAS BEEN WORKING TOWARD PREVENTING YOUTH SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES SINCE 2021.USING THE STRATEGIC PREVENTION FRAMEWORK AND INCORPORATING THE COMMUNITY ANTI-DRUG COALITIONS OF AMERICA’S (CADCA) SEVEN STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNITY-LEVEL CHANGE, SPWC HAS BEEN ABLE TO ENGAGE YOUTH AND COMMUNITY TO IMPLEMENT STRATEGIES AND IMPACT CHANGE. MOVING THIS WORK FORWARD, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE DFC GRANT INCLUDE: GOAL ONE: INCREASE COMMUNITY COLLABORATION. OBJECTIVE 1: INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THE SUN PRAIRIE WELLNESS COALITION. GOAL TWO: REDUCE YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE. OBJECTIVE ONE: REDUCE 30 DAY USE OF ALCOHOL AMONG SUN PRAIRIE YOUTH. OBJECTIVE 2: REDUCE 30 DAY USE OF TOBACCO AMONG SUN PRAIRIE YOUTH. REDUCING ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY OF THESE SUBSTANCES AS WELL AS SHIFTING COMMUNITY NORMS AND PROMOTING AWARENESS REGARDING THE DANGERS OF YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE WILL BE THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THE DFC GRANT IN YEARS 1-5. SUN PRAIRIE WELLNESS COALITION 2