Action For The Betterment Of Our Community

ACTION FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE COMMUNITY DFC SUPPORT PROGRAM

ACTION FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE COMMUNITY OF BUTTE COUNTY (ABC-BC) COALITION'S PRIORITY IS UNDERAGE DRINKING BY YOUTH AGES 12-18 AND ILLEGAL USE OF MARIJUANA IN BUTTE COUNTY SD.

ACTION FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE COMMUNITY OF BUTTE COUNTY (ABC-BC) COALITION'S PRIORITY IS UNDERAGE DRINKING BY YOUTH AGES 12-18 AND ILLEGAL USE OF MARIJUANA IN BUTTE COUNTY SD. - ACTION FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY OF BUTTE COUNTY (ABC-BC) WAS ORIGINALLY FOUNDED IN 2010, AS THE BELLE FOURCHE COMMUNITY COALITION, WITH THE GOAL OF REDUCING UNDERAGE DRINKING, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND VIOLENCE. BUTTE COUNTY, SITS ON HIGHWAY 85, WHICH IS A MAJOR HIGHWAY THROUGH THE MIDWEST. WITH A COMBINATION OF LOW POPULATION DENSITY, LOW-PAYING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, HIGH AGRIBUSINESS EMPLOYMENT, BUTTE COUNTY’S ESTIMATED POPULATION FOR 2023 IS 10,774. DUE TO THE GROWTH, THE COMMUNITY NEEDS HAVE CHANGED AND THE COMMUNITY HAS SEEN AN INCREASE IN THE AREAS OF YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE AND A LACK OF PREVENTION PROGRAMING AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY. ACCORDING TO THE MOST RECENT CENSUS DATA, THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN BUTTE COUNTY IS BELOW THE STATE AVERAGE AT $49,353 (SOUTH DAKOTA $59,896). ACCORDING TO THE COUNTY HEALTH RANKINGS, BUTTE COUNTY HAS 21% OF THE YOUTH LIVING IN SINGLE PARENT HOUSEHOLDS. ACCORDING TO THE 2019 KIDS COUNT FACTBOOK, BUTTE COUNTY HAS 47% FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH POPULATION IN ITS SCHOOLS, THE STATE AVERAGE IS 40% INCLUDING RESERVATIONS. WITH A RATE OF 4.6% UNEMPLOYMENT IN BUTTE COUNTY MOST RESIDENTS TRAVEL AN AVERAGE OF 23.7 MINUTES TO WORK, (THE STATE AVERAGE IS 16.9 MINUTES). THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE FOR BUTTE COUNTY IS ONLY 88.3%. ONLY 27% OF THE POPULATION HAS A BACHELOR'S DEGREE OR HIGHER. THIS IS ROUGHLY 5% TO 10% LESS THAN BUTTE COUNTY'S TWO NEIGHBORING COUNTIES. BUTTE COUNTY BORDERS A UNIVERSITY TOWN, WHERE THE COST OF LIVING IS QUITE HIGHER THAN IN BUTTE COUNTY. THE BUSINESS SECTOR, AS WELL AS THE SCHOOL AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS, UNDERSTAND THE NECESSITY FOR PREVENTION ACTIVITIES IN THE COMMUNITY AND HAVE EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO SUSTAIN EFFORTS TOWARD EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMMING THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THE COMMUNITY IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE NUMEROUS PARENTS AND FAMILIES WHO ARE SUPPORTIVE OF PREVENTION EFFORTS. THE GOALS OF THE COALITION ARE: (1) INCREASE COMMUNITY COLLABORATION; AND (2) REDUCE YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE THE COALITION WILL ACHIEVE ITS GOALS BY IMPLEMENTING THESE STRATEGIES: (1) EXPAND MEMBERSHIP TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FROM EACH OF THE 12 SECTORS. (2) MAINTAIN COALITION INVOLVEMENT IN PREVENTION PROGRAMMING WITH CONTINUED EDUCATION AND MENTORING OF NEW AND EXISTING COALITION MEMBERS. (3) EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ON THE RETAIL ACCESS TO ALCOHOL BY MINORS. (4) INCREASE YOUTH'S KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO MAKE HEALTHIER DECISIONS RELATED TO SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE. (5) INCREASE THE YOUTH’S MOTIVATION AND SKILLS TO SET AND MONITOR MULTIPLE HEALTH BEHAVIOR GOALS BY PROVIDING BRIEF INTEGRATED INTERVENTIONS TO YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES IN THE COMMUNITY. (6) REDUCE ACCESS AND ENHANCE BARRIERS TO THE SOCIAL ACCESS OF ALCOHOL TO MINORS. (7) ENFORCE LAWS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ILLEGAL USE OF MARIJUANA AND DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MARIJUANA.

ABC WILL WORK TO ADDRESS UNDERAGE DRINKING IN MEADE COUNTY AMONG YOUTH AGES 12-20 BY INCREASING COMMUNITY COLLABORATION AND IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES. - MEADE COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA (3,483 SQ MILES) IS THE THIRD LARGEST COUNTY IN LAND SIZE IN THE UNITED STATES AND HAS A COMBINATION OF LOW POPULATION DENSITY, HIGH AGRIBUSINESS EMPLOYMENT, AND LOW PAYING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES. THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT, PERSISTENT CHALLENGES IN THE IDENTIFIED ABC STOP ACT TARGET AREA. ALTHOUGH THE MEDIAN INCOME FOR MEADE COUNTY ($59,563) IS ABOVE THE STATE ($56,871), THE PER-CAPITA INCOME FOR MEADE COUNTY ($26,896) RESIDENCE IS BELOW THE STATE ($28,761) DUE TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF FAMILIES LIVING IN MULTI-GENERATIONAL HOUSEHOLDS AND/OR MULTIPLE FAMILY DWELLINGS. THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (3.1), IS ALSO HIGHER THAN THE STATE AVERAGE OF 2.8%. STURGIS IS HOME TO THE FAMOUS STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY. THIS ANNUAL GATHERING OF ROUGHLY 500,000 BIKERS, BRINGS A UNIQUE SET OF CHALLENGES. HIGH ON THIS LIST IS UNDERAGE DRINKING. WHILE THE STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY OFFICIALLY RUNS ONLY TEN DAYS EACH YEAR, IT BRINGS MANY NEGATIVE EFFECTS TO THE COMMUNITY, SUCH AS AN INCREASE IN SUBSTANCE AVAILABILITY AND DRUG USE; EXPOSURE TO PUBLIC INTOXICATION; EXPOSURE TO NUDITY AND OTHER BEHAVIORS THAT NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOUTH. MANY OF THESE EFFECTS STAY LONG AFTER THE RALLY HAS ENDED. IN A 2018 REPORT FROM THE STURGIS POLICE DEPARTMENT, THERE ARE 23 ON-OR-OFF-SALE ESTABLISHMENTS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS AND AN ADDITIONAL 12 OFF-SALE-ONLY ESTABLISHMENTS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THE POPULATION OF STURGIS, SD IS 6,620 OR ONE ESTABLISHMENT FOR EVERY 189 PEOPLE, WHERE AS SOUTH DAKOTA HAS 1 LIQUOR STORE PER 11,111 RESIDENTS ACCORDING TO THE SEOW REPORT. THE GOALS OF THE COALITION ARE: (1) INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THE LOCAL COALITION TO REDUCE HIGH-RISK BEHAVIORS OF STUDENTS THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE, THROUGH COOPERATION AND COORDINATION AMONG CITY, COUNTY, AND STATE AGENCIES AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS; AND (2) REDUCE ALCOHOL USE AMONG YOUTH AGES 12-20. THE COALITION WILL WORK TO IMPLEMENT STRATEGIES THAT ADDRESS BOTH THE RETAIL AND SOCIAL ACCESS OF ALCOHOL BY YOUTH AGES (12-20).

ACTION FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY OF BUTTE COUNTY (ABC-BC) COALITION'S PRIORITY IS UNDERAGE DRINKING BY YOUTH AGES 12-18 AND THE ILLEGAL USE OF MARIJUANA IN BUTTE COUNTY SD