The Prevent! Drug-Free Community Coalition will strengthen collaboration among coalition partners and support the efforts to prevent and reduce substance use among youth by addressing risk factors. - The Prevent! Tacoma Drug-Free Community Coalition was organized in 2014 to prevent substance use among youth in Tacoma, Washington. Tacoma is a geographically and ethnically diverse urban area of 225,000 people grouped into 86,000 households. The population is about 40% ethnic minority and about 60% European American (United States Census Bureau, 2020). While known for its diverse culture, the city has always struggled with issues of poverty, substance use and mental stressors. These issues have grown substantially in the aftermath of the legalization of marijuana and the privatization of alcohol sales in Washington State in 2012, and more recently the availability of opioid based prescription drugs. Considering these major changes in local conditions, the two primary goals of the coalition's Action Plan are to: (1) increase local community collaboration in Tacoma's neighborhoods in order to prevent and reduce youth substance use, and (2) reduce/eliminate youth substance use by utilizing the Seven Strategies to Affect Community Change (CADCA, 2020). These strategies are designed to produce measurable objectives in the following four core measures: 1) past 30-day use, 2) perception of harm of substances by youth, 3) perception of harm of substances by peers, and 4) perception of harm of substances by parents. These strategies include providing information, enhancing skills, providing support, enhancing access to services, changing consequences, changing physical design, and modifying/changing policies.
