To strengthen community capacity to reduce youth substance use. - The proposed Drug-Free Communities Support Program (DFC) project is to increase community collaboration to build the capacity and infrastructure necessary to create sustainable community-level change and reduce youth substance use related to alcohol and tobacco/nicotine. The proposed project will take place in Richland County, Wisconsin. For the purpose of this project, the Partners 4 Prevention coalition will be targeting Richland County and more specifically, Richland Center and two independent school districts.
Richland County is a rural community nestled within the beautiful Ocooch Mountains of Southwestern Wisconsin. The Ocooch Mountains are also known as the Driftless Region, meaning lacking glacial drift. The lack of glaciated terrain accounts for the high hills, bluffs, & ridges. Richland County offers great land for seasonal hunting & fishing in a quiet, remote area, and has historically been home to hundreds of dairy farms. Despite the beautiful geography & outdoor scenery, Richland County residents face many challenges that are typical of rural communities such as poverty, lower access to mental & substance use services, & favorable attitudes toward excessive drinking all of which are risk factors for substance use. The risk factors for substance use are also pervasive in the youth population, which makes continued prevention efforts a critical need in the community.
Increasing the capacity and infrastructure of our county to tackle youth substance use is paramount to the overall health of our county. Populations of focus for the proposed project are youth, parents/caregivers, and community stakeholders. Our initiatives are developed to be relevant, accessible, and inclusive to all individuals but with a recognition that strategies can be used towards enhancing health equity with a focus on marginalized groups of youth. Notably, our rural area has witnessed a rise in Latinx community members, alongside an emerging acknowledgment of the LGBTQ+ youth population. Utilizing data from the YRBS, the coalition is able to monitor substance misuse disparities and have found evidence of several populations at elevated risk for substance misuse and related risk factors, including LGBTQ+, academically poor (Cs or less), Latinx and students feeling disconnected, being bullied or with mental health concerns.
The proposed project will serve communities within Richland with its two main goals: increase community collaboration and reduce youth substance use related to alcohol and tobacco/nicotine. Progress towards goals will be measured by an increase in membership and participation; an increase in parental disapproval for both substances, increased perception of harm for both substances, and an increase in compliance checks to reduce retail access.
Through DFC funding, the Partners 4 Prevention and the Youth4Change will work to further strengthen capacity and collaboration among adults and key stakeholders, as strong partnerships will be vital to the success of the project. Utilizing the most effective public health prevention strategies focused on community collaboration and environmental change including the Strategic Prevention Framework and CADCA’s Seven Strategies for Community-Level Change, Partners 4 Prevention will provide evidence-based initiatives to address youth substance use related to alcohol and tobacco/nicotine use. The Project Director/Project Coordinator will support Partners 4 Prevention in the implementation of the 12-Month Action Plan, will provide leadership and substance use prevention training opportunities, and will support data collection and evaluation efforts. Partners 4 Prevention will engage the target population, youth under age 18, through the Youth4Change youth coalitions and through outreach in the public high schools.
