Sunday, May 5, 2024
5/5/2024
With a rich history of two decades of working to prevent adolescent substance use in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, The Fuquay-Varina Coalition for a Safe and Drug Free Community (Coalition) has worked to reduce adolescent substance use. The Coalition boasts representation from a diverse group of people representing the gamut of community sectors. Past successes include a 96% increase in alcohol sales law compliance rates resulting from alcohol purchase surveys, merchant education, and enforcement. The current mission of the Coalition is to reduce youth alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use in Fuquay-Varina through community and youth empowerment, education, outreach and strategic policy promotion. Of concern is the higher rate of substance use among older adolescents in Fuquay-Varina, relative to North Carolina, leading to a negative impact on academic performance, school absenteeism, and community safety. Additionally, NC adolescents have increased use of electronic nicotine delivery systems such as vapes by nearly 900% since 2011 with youth reporting a pervasive presence at Fuquay-Varina High School. The Coalition has prioritized two community problems--teen alcohol use and teen electronic vaping product use, with goals to reduce underage alcohol past 30 day use by 5% by 2025 and teen electronic vaping use by 10% by 2025 as reported on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Supported by the Poe Center for Health Education and utilizing the Seven Strategies for Effective Community Change, the Coalition will implement a socioecological model approach to reducing adolescent substance use by implementing a comprehensive Good Neighbor campaign. Components include, but are not limited to, in-home, business, and community level policies and physical environment improvements, prosocial norms media and marketing, With vibrant youth empowerment groups integrating Fuquay-Varina High School and Fuquay-Varina Middle School students, the Coalition will bring the strength of empowered youth collaborating with Coalition adults to further develop and implement the Seven Strategies. The Project Director, Project Coordinator, and Data Coordinator will improve Coalition and community data systems and access as well as track project successes and milestones. Project leads will collect, analyze and report community and project level data to the Coalition and stakeholders. A key to project success is based in the engaged and empowered youth who participate in Poe Youth Empowerment groups based in Fuquay-Varina Middle and High Schools. Youth are inclusively invited to voluntarily participate in Coalition meetings and will lead efforts among their peers and lead and support advocacy efforts across the community.
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).
