Rush And Henrietta Community Health & Safety Coalition Inc

DRUG FREE COMMUNITIES SUPPORT PROGRAM- RUSH AND HENRIETTA - PROJECT ABSTRACT: THE RUSH AND HENRIETTA COMMUNITY HEALTH & SAFETY COALITION (THE COALITION) IS A COLLABORATION OF RESIDENTS AND REPRESENTATIVES FROM LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE MISSION IS TO UNIFY AND MOBILIZE THE COMMUNITIES OF RUSH AND HENRIETTA TO KEEP KIDS SAFE FROM HARMFUL INFLUENCES AND PROMOTE THE POSITIVE AND DRUG-FREE DEVELOPMENT OF ALL OUR YOUTH. THE COALITION HAS SELECTED CANNABIS/MARIJUANA AND UNDERAGE ALCOHOL USE AS ISSUES IN NEED OF SPECIAL FOCUS. THIS IS BASED ON ALCOHOL AND CANNABIS/MARIJUANA USE DATA COLLECTED THROUGH THE BIENNIAL YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY (YRBS) IN ADDITION TO LOCAL CONDITIONS THAT HAVE BECOME MORE CONDUCIVE TO CANNABIS/MARIJUANA USE. WE ARE ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES USING THE COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK, SEVEN STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE, AND IMPLEMENTING EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES. IN AN EFFORT TO ACHIEVE GOAL ONE, TO ESTABLISH AND STRENGTHEN THE COLLABORATION AMONG COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS AND ORGANIZATION TO ADDRESS YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE, OUR MOST IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE IS TO INCREASE MEMBERSHIP BY 2 MEMBERS. USING EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT, THE COALITION WILL IMPLEMENT EXTENSIVE OUTREACH STRATEGIES. THIS WILL INCLUDE THINGS SUCH AS INCREASED MEDIA OUTREACH, PARTICIPATION IN ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY EVENTS, PROVIDING TRAININGS, PRESENTATIONS FOR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND STRATEGIC YOUTH ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS. WITH THE AIM OF ACHIEVING GOAL TWO, TO REDUCE SUBSTANCE USE AMONG YOUTH AND, OVER TIME, REDUCE SUBSTANCE USE AMONG ADULTS BY ADDRESSING THE FACTORS IN A COMMUNITY THAT INCREASE RISK OF SUBSTANCE USE AND PROMOTING THE FACTORS THAT MINIMIZE THE RISK OF SUBSTANCE USE, OUR FIRST OBJECTIVE IS TO INCREASE THE PERCEPTION OF GREAT OR MODERATE RISK BY 2% THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH USE OF EITHER CANNABIS/MARIJUANA OR ALCOHOL (THE TWO SUBSTANCE SELECTED FOR SPECIAL FOCUS). OUR APPROACH WILL INCLUDE A NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES SUCH AS: INCREASED PREVENTION MESSAGING ACROSS VARIETY OF MEDIA PLATFORMS, COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO REVIEW AND MODIFY POLICIES WHEN NECESSARY, SUPPORT YOUTH LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, AND WORK WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO INCREASE CONSEQUENCES FOR THOSE PROVIDING OR ALLOWING UNDERAGE CANNABIS/MARIJUANA OR ALCOHOL USE. THESE STRATEGIES WILL HELP INCREASE OUR CAPACITY AND CREATE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF REDUCING SUBSTANCE USE BY OUR LOCAL YOUTH (PRINCIPALLY CANNABIS/MARIJUANA AND ALCOHOL). THIS APPROACH, PROVIDES A SECURE FOUNDATION FOR OUR INITIATIVE AND WILL BE MEASURED BY RESPONSES TO THE FOUR-CORE MEASURE QUESTIONS. IMPORTANTLY, WE WILL HAVE A ROBUST DATA COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT PLAN IN PLACE. THIS PLAN OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MONITOR ONGOING PROGRESS AND GAUGE THE SUCCESS OF SHORT-TERM, INTERMEDIATE-TERM AND LONG-TERM OUTCOMES, PROVIDING REASSURANCE AND CONFIDENCE IN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR INITIATIVE.