Project STOP - Healthy Community Coalition (HCC) will implement Project STOP, building upon current substance use prevention work in Greater Franklin County, Maine by offering evidence-based prevention education and resources for youth and families in five different school districts in Western Maine to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth. The population of focus for Project STOP is youth in grades 6- 8 in the geographic catchment area of Greater Franklin County Maine which includes all of Franklin County and several neighboring towns. This federally designated very rural and medically underserved county of Western Maine spans 1,800 square miles and stretches from central Maine north to the Canadian border.
HCC will implement Botvin LifeSkills Training Program (LSTP) and increase community capacity to accomplish the following goals of Project STOP: 1) Prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth in grades 6- 8 by increasing competency of youth on multiple levels, preparing them to respond to health risk challenges for alcohol use; 2) Involve, educate and support parents in reinforcing the skills taught in the LSTP within the home and community; and 3) Strengthen communication and service coordination within the schools and community regarding alcohol use prevention for youth and their families. Grant objectives include: 1) By June 2023, implement the LifeSkills Training Program (LSTP) through after school programming and health classes in grades 6 -8 in 7 schools serving 1,260 students. 2) By June 2023, 80% of students in grades 6-8 will demonstrate proficient knowledge and skill comprehension in age appropriate personal self-management, i.e., self-image and behavior, goal setting, self-monitoring and reinforcement, problem solving, decision making, and stress and anxiety management. 3) By June 2023, 80% of students in grades 6-8 will demonstrate proficient knowledge and skill comprehension in age appropriate social resistance skills, i.e., media awareness and other pro-alcohol social influences, anti-alcohol use norms, prevention-related alcohol knowledge, and alcohol refusal skills; 4) By June 2023, the percentage of youth grades 6-8 reporting past 30 –day alcohol use will be reduced by 20%; 5) By June 2023, the percentage of youth that perceive no risk of harm consuming 1 or 2 drinks of an alcoholic beverage nearly every day will decrease from 38.7% to 10%; 6) By June 2023 students’ perception of not being caught by the police if they drank alcohol will decrease from 63.1% to 30%; 7) By June 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 teach LST Parent Curriculum to all parents of LST Program participants regarding goal, concepts and activities; 8) By June 2022 twenty-five parents will actively extend LST Parent Program concepts within the school and community; 9) By June 2023 students’ perception of not being caught by their parents will decrease from 22.4% to 10%; and 10) By June 2020, information regarding local, regional and state resources for mental health services, alcohol use, and social services will be available to the Franklin Community.
