Muskogee CAN will serve the entire geographical area of Muskogee County, primarily using this funding to enhance our efforts to focus on the under-resourced and high-needs rural communities. The Population of focus for this project is youth and young adults, ages 12-20, in Muskogee County.
Prior to being awarded the DFC, Muskogee CAN worked to build the coalition capacity that resulted in strong relationships with schools, law enforcement, community leaders, and other vital sectors that allowed us to successfully implement and sustain underage drinking strategy to implement and sustain underage drinking strategies successful years 1-4 to be focused on implementing new strategies aimed at decreasing youth vaping in our community. With a large focus on vaping, our community is starting to see the rates of underage drinking slowly increase, in addition to a change in the social norms of underage drinking in the community.
STOP Act funding will enhance the efforts of the current DFC to implement a social norms plan and campaign to address the lowered perception of harm in the community. The DFC priority related to underage drinking education and information is centered on social host laws. The proposed funding will allow a dual focus on laws and youth perceptions, and social norms.
The goals are as follows.
Goal 1. Increase the perception of harm related to underage drinking among youth in Muskogee County. Goal 2. Decrease the percentage of students reporting community norms/laws favorable to drug use. Goal 3. Reduce youth underage alcohol use in Muskogee County.
The proposed activities are as follows.
Enhance Coalition Capacity. Expand the underage prevention strategies to include social norms and aim to increase the youth perception of harm; serve as a catalyst for increased citizen participation and greater collaboration among all sectors and organizations of a community to foster a long-term commitment to reducing alcohol use among youth; Enhance Intergovernmental Cooperation and Coordination. Serve as a liaison and convener of intergovernmental agencies to keep them informed of underage drinking issues, initiatives, and opportunities for participation; Collaboration among Communities and Government. Muskogee CAN will strengthen the collaboration among communities and federal, state, local, and tribal governments to reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults through formal strategic partnerships; Information Dissemination. Muskogee CAN will disseminate timely information to communities regarding state-of-the-art practices and initiatives that have proven effective in preventing and reducing alcohol use among youth; Action Plan. Muskogee CAN will coordinate with the Muskogee Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) and coalition members to create a Strategic Action Plan to enhance social norm initiatives specific to preventing and reducing alcohol use among youth; Town Hall Meetings. Muskogee CAN, will conduct an annual Underage Drinking Prevention Town Hall Meeting, which will include a post-event survey to gain insight from cross sections of the community on underage drinking issues and concerns. Work with the Prevention Technology Transfer Centers (PTTC). Muskogee CAN will engage the South Southwest (HHS Region 6) Prevention Technology Transfer Center to provide technical assistance for input on our strategic planning documents and supporting materials such as toolkits, written community agreements, content for Town Hall events, and final evaluation products