Colorado Meth Project Inc

THE CONNECT EFFECT YOUTH PREVENTION INITIATIVE - THE CONNECT EFFECT YOUTH PREVENTION INITIATIVE WILL ENABLE RISE ABOVE COLORADO (RAC) TO EXPAND YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION ACROSS RURAL AND FRONTIER COLORADO BY COMBINING FENTANYL AWARENESS MESSAGING, SCHOOL-BASED PREVENTION EDUCATION, YOUTH LEADERSHIP, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS TO REDUCE PRESCRIPTION DRUG MISUSE AND OVERDOSE RISK AMONG ADOLESCENTS. RAC WILL SERVE YOUTH IN BROOMFIELD, DELTA, LOGAN, MESA, MOFFAT, MORGAN, PHILLIPS, ROUTT, SEDGWICK, WASHINGTON, AND YUMA COUNTIES THROUGH DATA-INFORMED, EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES TAILORED TO LOCAL NEEDS. THE PROJECT WILL STRENGTHEN PROTECTIVE NORMS, INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF FENTANYL AND COUNTERFEIT PILL RISK, EXPAND ACCESS TO YOUTH-SERVING PREVENTION RESOURCES, AND BUILD LOCAL CAPACITY FOR SUSTAINED PREVENTION IN HIGH-NEED COMMUNITIES. THROUGH COORDINATED MEDIA, EDUCATIONAL TOOLS, AND PEER ENGAGEMENT, THE INITIATIVE WILL EQUIP YOUTH AND THE ADULTS WHO SUPPORT THEM WITH PRACTICAL SKILLS TO PREVENT SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND RESPOND TO OVERDOSE RISK. RAC PROPOSES THIS ONE-YEAR PROJECT FOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2026–SEPTEMBER 29, 2027, PRIMARILY SERVING YOUTH AGES 12–17, WITH BROADER REACH TO YOUTH AGES 10–18 AND ADULTS WHO INFLUENCE YOUTH BEHAVIOR, INCLUDING EDUCATORS, SCHOOL STAFF, PARENTS, CAREGIVERS, AND YOUTH-SERVING PROFESSIONALS. THE ESTIMATED ANNUAL REACH IS 20,114 YOUTH, APPROXIMATELY 65% OF THE NEARLY 31,000 YOUTH IN THE IDENTIFIED COUNTIES. THE POPULATION INCLUDES YOUTH FROM RURAL AND FRONTIER COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED YOUTH AND YOUTH LIVING IN AREAS WITH LIMITED PROVIDER ACCESS, TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS, AND FEWER PREVENTION SUPPORTS. AS A PREVENTION INITIATIVE RATHER THAN A CLINICAL TREATMENT PROGRAM, PARTICIPANTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A FORMAL DIAGNOSIS; INSTEAD, THE PROJECT TARGETS YOUTH WITH PREVENTION SERVICE NEEDS RELATED TO LOW PERCEIVED RISK OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG MISUSE, LIMITED FENTANYL AWARENESS, EXPOSURE TO PEER SUBSTANCE USE, WEAK BYSTANDER CONFIDENCE, AND CO-OCCURRING MENTAL HEALTH STRESSORS THAT MAY INCREASE VULNERABILITY TO SUBSTANCE MISUSE. STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS INCLUDE A GEOTARGETED CONNECT EFFECT FENTANYL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN USING LOCAL YOUTH SURVEY DATA AND POSITIVE SOCIAL NORMING MESSAGES; DELIVERY OF NOT PRESCRIBED, A 60–90 MINUTE SCIENCE- AND STANDARDS-BASED LESSON ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG MISUSE, ADOLESCENT BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, FENTANYL-LACED PILLS, AND NALOXONE; TEEN MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID; PILOT EXPANSION OF BEYOND THE SCREEN DIGITAL LITERACY CONTENT; USE OF ADDITIONAL RAC TOOLS SUCH AS HOW TO BE A GOOD FRIEND AND CLOSING THE GAP; AND YOUTH-LED PREVENTION ACTIVITIES THROUGH THE STATEWIDE TEEN ACTION COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS. THE GOAL IS TO PREVENT PRESCRIPTION DRUG MISUSE AND FENTANYL-INVOLVED OVERDOSE AMONG COLORADO YOUTH BY INCREASING ACCESS TO EVIDENCE-BASED PREVENTION EDUCATION, STRENGTHENING PROTECTIVE NORMS, AND BUILDING YOUTH LEADERSHIP IN HIGH-NEED COMMUNITIES. MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES ARE TO: (1) COLLECT AND ANALYZE LOCALIZED 2026 YOUTH SURVEY DATA BY FALL 2026 TO ESTABLISH BENCHMARKS FOR CAMPAIGN AWARENESS, OPIOID AND FENTANYL ATTITUDES, AND BYSTANDER INTENTIONS; (2) REACH AT LEAST 65% OF THE TARGETED YOUTH AUDIENCE AGES 12–17 IN PRIORITY COUNTIES THROUGH THE CONNECT EFFECT CAMPAIGN; (3) TRAIN AND SUPPORT EDUCATORS, SCHOOL STAFF, PREVENTION PARTNERS, AND YOUTH-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS TO DELIVER RAC RESOURCES IN AT LEAST EIGHT SCHOOLS OR PARTNER SITES; (4) ACHIEVE AT LEAST A 10-POINT INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEIVED RISK RELATED TO PRESCRIPTION DRUG MISUSE AND OPIOIDS, WITH AT LEAST 70% OF PARTICIPANTS REPORTING “GREAT RISK” IN EXPERIMENTING WITH PRESCRIPTION PILLS ON RETROSPECTIVE POST-SURVEYS; (5) CONVENE THE TEEN ACTION COUNCIL FOR FOUR IN-PERSON MEETINGS AND MONTHLY VIRTUAL MEETINGS WITH TEEN MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING; AND (6) STRENGTHEN LOCAL PREVENTION CAPACITY THROUGH YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND EARLY COALITION DEVELOPMENT IN HIGH-NEED REGIONS.

#IRISEABOVE POSITIVE SOCIAL NORMING AND OPIOID EDUCATION PROJECT - THE "#IRISEABOVE POSITIVE SOCIAL NORMING AND OPIOID EDUCATION PROJECT" IS A SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION INITIATIVE THAT ENABLES RISE ABOVE COLORADO (RAC) TO MAINTAIN AND GROW ITS INFRASTRUCTURE, MESSAGING AND RESOURCES TO COORDINATE AND SUPPORT A STATEWIDE NETWORK OF PARTNERS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING A POSITIVE COMMUNITY NORMS APPROACH TO PREVENTION. THE PROJECT WILL PROMOTE MESSAGING AND PROGRAMMING TO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL-AGED STUDENTS (AGES 12-17) EMPHASIZING THAT MOST COLORADO YOUTH ARE NOT USING DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. IT WILL ALSO AMPLIFY SPECIFIC OPIOID MISUSE PREVENTION WITH MESSAGING, EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES THAT INCREASE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEIVED RISK OF OPIOIDS AND THE PRESENCE OF FENTANYL, THEREBY INCREASING ACTION-ORIENTED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS AMONG YOUTH TO HELP PREVENT OVERDOSES AMONG THEIR PEERS THROUGH POSITIVE SOCIAL NORMING AND THE ABILITY TO DEPLOY NALOXONE. AS SUCH, YOUTH PEER-TO-PEER LEADERSHIP IS CENTRAL TO THIS PROPOSAL. THIS PROPOSAL IS COMPRISED OF SEVERAL INTERRELATED PROJECTS UPON WHICH RAC STAFF WILL ENGAGE WITH PARTNERS, YOUTH AND CONTRACTORS, DIRECTLY SERVING MORE THAN 5,028 YOUTH PARTICIPANTS. ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: • PILOT SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION PROGRAMMING IN 4 RURAL COLORADO SCHOOLS IN THE EASTERN AND WESTERN PARTS OF THE STATE • DELIVERY OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE TO SUPPORT INCREASED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & PERCEPTION OF HARM ABOUT THE DANGERS OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG MISUSE, FENTANYL AND OTHER CONTAMINANTS TO 4,500 YOUTH ACROSS A 23-COUNTY RURAL FOOTPRINT • PAID DIGITAL ADVERTISING FOR RAC'S SOCIAL NORMING CAMPAIGN FILL YOUR WORLD WITH GOOD STATEWIDE, WITH SPECIFIC SATURATION-LEVEL GEOTARGETING IN THE 23-COUNTY RURAL FOOTPRINT IDENTIFIED ABOVE. • FACILITATION OF RAC’S 2024-2025 TEEN ACTION COUNCIL (COMPRISED OF 28 YOUTH) TO SUPPORT STATEWIDE PEER DELIVERY OF RAC’S EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (E.G. NOT PRESCRIBED) AND SOCIAL NORMING MESSAGING (E.G. CONNECT EFFECT, FILL YOUR WORLD WITH GOOD) • UPDATED PLATFORMS FOR YOUTH AND ADULT ACCESS TO RAC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES THROUGH THE REDEVELOPMENT OF RAC’S ADULT AND YOUTH FACING WEBSITES (WWW.RISEABOVECO.ORG AND WWW.IRISEABOVECO.ORG) • THROUGH FOCUS GROUP TESTING WITH YOUTH AND EDUCATORS, DEVELOP UP TO 4 UPDATED CONTENT MODULES WITHIN THE NOT PRESCRIBED LESSON • SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY-BASED PROCESS WORK OF RAC’S COLORADO CONSTELLATION PROJECT NETWORK OF PREVENTION PARTNERS, INCLUDING PLANNING AND DELIVERY OF ITS ANNUAL CONSTELLATION PARTNER SUMMIT.

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