TGC DFC Continuation Application Year 7 (10/31/2020-10/30/2021) - The Guidance Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit human services agency headquartered in Southgate, Michigan serves as the fiduciary of the Stop Underage Drugs and Drinking Coalition (SUDDs). SUDDs serves 13 of the 18 communities comprising the “Downriver” area located south of Detroit with a mission to prevent underage drinking and drug use. The Coalition was formed by area youth more than ten years ago, and has grown to include thirteen Downriver communities, with 29 adult and 50 youth members.
SUDDs represents the Downriver communities of Allen Park, Brownstown Township, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, Melvindale, Riverview, River Rouge, Rockwood, Southgate, Trenton, Woodhaven, and Wyandotte, with a total population of 344,000. SUDDs communities are 81.4% White; 11.8% Black; 7.9% Latino; 1.6% Asian; and 0.3% Native American with a poverty rate of 15.13%, higher than the U.S. rate of 12.7%.
The goals of the coalition are to establish and strengthen community collaboration and to prevent youth substance use. The coalition will achieve its goals by implementing comprehensive strategies, including: changing social norms around prescription drug misuse/abuse, underage drinking and youth tobacco use, vaping, and marijuana use; increasing consequences for those who furnish alcohol and tobacco to minors; enhancing barriers to accessing alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and prescription drugs for misuse/abuse; changing the physical design in the community, targeting prevention initiatives; and advocating for modifying policies and practices to prevent youth access to and use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and prescription drugs for misuse/abuse. The primary objectives are to reduce the percentage of youth who report using prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription, alcohol, tobacco, including vaping products, and marijuana. These objectives are measured bi-annually through the Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth (MiPHY) survey conducted in local middle and high schools. In 2018, the coalition provided education and small group support to over 6,800 children and youth and reached more than 6,500 community members through presentations and workshops, both in schools and the community, through vendor/prescriber education. Additionally, the coalition reached over 250,000 people with billboards addressing the opioid epidemic. These numbers are expected to rise as the coalition expands its reach and as the number of schools participating in prevention services continues to grow. By the end of the DFC Support Program grant, we anticipate reaching more than 7,500 children each year through prevention services and over 25,000 children annually through community based and environmental strategies.
