LEAD Phillipsburg: Learn, Educate, Advocate, Develop Drug Free Communities Coalition-STOP! Be Safe & Sober! - LEAD Phillipsburg: Learn, Educate, Advocate, Develop Drug Free Communities Coalition (LEAD-DFC) has fostered strong relationships with key community stakeholders and collaborative ties to its community sectors to reduce youth substance use. The proposed project, LEAD-DFC Coalition: STOP! Be Safe & Sober (STOP! Be Safe & Sober!) will meet the goals and objectives of the STOP Act grant to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults ages 12-20 through policy change that will permanently infuse important alcohol awareness education into systems reaching teens and their parents through identified strategies, interventions, and evidenced-based curriculum implementation.
STOP! Be Safe & Sober! will serve youth ages 12-20, with an emphasis to engage the growing Hispanic/Latino population and the vulnerable youth living in poverty within Phillipsburg, NJ. According to 2020 census data, 25.5% of Phillipsburg youth live below the poverty threshold. Families living in poverty have been historically underserved, which may be due to additional barriers in reaching their youth, including lack of Internet access, low trust for professional organizations, limited reading and writing capabilities, instability of mental health, and substance use disorders. Additionally, census data demonstrated a 4.2% growth of Hispanic/Latino families in Phillipsburg from 2010 to 2020. This growth has not been met with equal growth of bilingual services in any domain, including youth substance use prevention. STOP! Be Safe & Sober! will fill this void, engage Spanish-speaking youth, and, ultimately, reduce underage drinking.
LEAD-DFC has established two goals to reduce underage drinking. The first is to decrease rates of 30-day alcohol use among youth ages 12-20 through increased perception of risk and harm as a result of the STOP! Be Safe & Sober! initiative. To achieve this goal, two objectives are necessary:
1. Increase youth perception of risk and harm of underage drinking by 5%, as measured by PRIDE Plus Student survey, by implementing evidenced-based prevention programs to 500 youth, including 100 Hispanic/Latino youth annually, by September 29 of each grant year.
2. Modify 2 school and 2 community policies to include evidenced-based prevention curriculum as consequences for youth alcohol-related incidents at youth-oriented sponsored events by September 29, 2026
The second goal is to reduce youth access to alcohol by decreasing social acceptability of underage drinking through the STOP! Be Safe & Sober! initiative. Three objectives are necessary to achieve this goal:
1. Increase awareness of consequences of underage drinking among adults by 20% through education and a bilingual health marketing campaign conducted by LEAD-DFC Project Coordinator by September 29, 2026, as measured by pre/posttest surveys at point of service.
2. By September 29, 2026, decrease social host violations by 5%, as measured by the number of citations issued by the Phillipsburg Police Department.
3. By September 29, 2026, certify 90% of liquor store and restaurant managers annually in TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures), including standardized 21+ ID Check component, as instructed by the Project Coordinator by September 29, 2026.
LEAD-DFC aims to serve an additional 500 youth annually, including a minimum of 100 from Hispanic/Latino households. Throughout the lifetime of the STOP Act grant, this translates to 2,000 youth ages 12-20 and 400 Hispanic/Latino youth. However, sustainability efforts will ensure implemented projects, initiatives, and policy changes outlast STOP Act funding.
