Monday, May 6, 2024
5/6/2024
The Achieving New Highs project focuses on reducing substance use among youth in grades 6-12 in the Telluride R-1 School District in rural Southwestern Colorado. We will reduce substance use by reducing youth access to substances, providing accurate information to youth and community members about youth substance use, and reducing that risk factors and increasing the protective factors that have been shown to impact youth substance use. Offered by the San Miguel Communities that Care Coalition, the project goals are to: 1) Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, non-profit agencies, and local governments to support Coalition efforts to reduce substance use among youth; and 2) Reduce substance use among youth and, over time, reduce substance abuse among adults, by addressing factors in our community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse. Our objectives for year 1 are to: • Provide information to 75% of the Telluride community and 75% of the students enrolled in 6th-12th grade on youth substance use and community-level risk and protective factors • Decrease past 30-day alcohol and marijuana use for 6-12 graders by 10% by partnering with 10 organizations/businesses to build support to create a space for prosocial youth activities • Reduce youth use of marijuana by working with local festivals, event planners, and marijuana dispensaries to add marijuana amnesty drop off boxes during festivals/special events and increasing barriers to marijuana access for youth • Reduce youth access to and use of alcohol by increasing barriers to alcohol access for youth. To accomplish these objectives, the Coalition will use the following strategies and interventions: • Educate all community members about youth substance use and risk/protective factors by facilitating community forums, implementing a media campaign, and tabling at events • Use a social norms campaign to provide accurate information to area youth on youth substance use • Build public support for a “youth club” for area organizations to offer opportunities for prosocial activities and identify possible locations within the community for the club • Conduct research into social host laws and their applicability in the Telluride community • Provide drug amnesty boxes at festivals in collaboration with law enforcement to facilitate safe disposal and reduce the likelihood that youth will come into contact with substances • Work with the marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores to reduce the incidence of adults providing alcohol and marijuana to youth through an outreach campaign. The Coalition will serve approximately 3,750 people during year 1 of the grant, which is 75% the 5,000 community members in the greater Telluride region. We expect to serve 4,750 over the 5-year grant period as we continue to outreach to and serve the region.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
