Sallisaw NOW Coalition - Opioid Crisis Grant to prevent non-medical opioid prescription drug use by youth. - Sallisaw NOW Coalition is a substance abuse prevention community coalition serving Sallisaw, Oklahoma and Sequoyah County. This project is a collaboration of stakeholders, public officials, youth, parents, educators, healthcare professionals, and concerned citizens all working to lessen the impact of non-medical opioid use on our local community. The target population for this project is youth, grades 6th - 12th. Additionally, we will educated and engage prescribers, adults, and parents to play an active role in the prevention of opioid abuse. The project is designed to make community-level change and impact all 41,153 residents of Sequoyah County.
The Coalition utilizes a public health approach that uses data-driven prevention planning to identify and implement population-based strategies aimed to reducing youth alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, prescription drug, and illicit drug abuse. Services include conducting an annual community needs and resource assessment, coordinating strategic planning among stakeholders, and implementation of evidence-based and proven-effective strategies for community change:
• Providing Support (Community Coordination, Advocacy Efforts)
• Providing Information (Information Dissemination of Facts and Resources)
• Enhancing Skills (Education, Training)
• Enhancing Access & Reduce Barriers to Services and Resources
• Modifying / Changing Policies that support prevention
• Physical Design review and changes that support protective factors and thwart risk factors
• Change Consequences such as enhanced enforcement of existing regulations
