TPAUD, Trumbull's Prevention Partnership, was born in 2006 of the commitment of educators and community members in Trumbull, CT to address a startling surge in underage drinking among our youth. With state and federal grant funding, TPAUD has expanded its mission to include prevention activities that address underage drinking, marijuana use (including vaping), and prescription drug misuse by Trumbull youth in grades 7-12. Our prevention activities focus on education, community outreach, and enforcement.
TPAUD has a dedicated membership of school staff, parents, youth, and community members. The goals of the coalition are to establish and strengthen community collaboration in support of local efforts to prevent youth substance use by implementing the following strategies: 1) Increase coalition capacity through training and community outreach, 2) Provide information to students, parents, and community members about the risks and consequences of alcohol and drug use, 3) Deliver school-based programs that provide information and prevention strategies to students and their parents, 4) Increase the capacity of the police department through education and training, 5) Reduce access to alcohol and drugs through education to merchants, parents, community members, and healthcare professionals, 6) Increase the barriers to alcohol and drugs through increased enforcement activities such as additional party patrols, an anonymous underage drinking tipsline, and merchant compliance checks. Our efforts are data-driven and use evidence-based, environmental strategies. We measure our success through student and parent surveys that assess the attitudes and behaviors around substance use in our community including past 30-day use, perception of harm, perception of parental disapproval, and perception of peer disapproval.
Our prevention efforts to date have been successful; student survey data continues to show declining rates of youth substance use, as well as rising rates of parental disapproval and vigilance. By engaging and mobilizing youth, parents, and community partners to reduce youth substance abuse, TPAUD works to create a safe, healthy, and thriving community free of underage drinking and drug use.