HCCDFC/NCADD Hudson CARA - HCCDFC/NCADD Hudson Project Summary/Overview
The Hudson County Coalition for a Drug-Free Community/NCADD Hudson CARA grant will utilize CARA Local Drug Crises Grant funds, provided by the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to reduce youth prescription drug/opioid misuse in Hudson County, New Jersey, a county of 677,983 residents. The goal of the coalition is to establish and strengthen community collaboration in support of local efforts to prevent youth substance use.
According to the 2016 census, Hudson County, NJ has a population of 677,983. The racial makeup of the County is 43.2% Hispanic, 28.9% white, 15% black, 15.9% Asian, 1.2% American Indian or Alaskan Native. In Hudson County, 20.5% of current residents are under the age of 18. We are a very urban area consisting of 12 municipalities with Jersey City (2014 population: 262,146) being the largest and the County seat. As we work to prevent and reduce youth prescription drug/opioid misuse in Hudson County, we will increase the quality of life in the county as a whole. Each year we will serve 2,000 students and parents/guardians through data collection, direct service, and social norms campaigns with a four year projected total of reaching 8,000 youth and parents/guardians.
The Hudson County Coalition for a Drug-Free Community uses the following strategies to create community-level change and reduce youth prescription drug/opioid misuse: Provide information, Enhance Skills, Provide Support, Enhance Access/Reduce Barriers, Change Consequences (Incentives/Disincentives), Change Physical Design, and Modify/Change Policies. We also use the SPF framework which includes: Assessment, Capacity, Planning, Implementing, Evaluation, Cultural Competency, and Sustainability to ensure best prevention efforts are implemented.
The project goal is: To prevent and reduce youth prescription drug/opioid misuse in Hudson County, New Jersey middle school and high school students, age 12-18 by 10% over a three year period. The objectives are as follow:
1. Reduce past 30 day use of prescription drugs and opioids.
2. Increase community collaboration among Hudson County youth-serving organizations around the issue of prescription drug/opioid misuse.
3. Increase media coverage of youth Rx/opioid misuse in Hudson County.
