The Owen County Drug Prevention Coalition- Hope's Hands Inc. proposes to utilize the seven strategies for community change to provide targeted interventions regarding alcohol within Owen County, Kentucky community, specifically targeting youth ages 12 to 20 years of age. Because Owen County is primarily agricultural and sparsely populated with 11, 278 residents, the Coalition will make an extra effort to reach youth in every corner of the community. On average, working citizens have a commute time of 41.2 minutes to and from work each day. Coalition efforts will be intentional to not only work around job and commute schedules but take into account time that youth are home alone. Activities geared towards parents and adults will take place generally in the evening or via social media. Alcohol prevention activities geared toward youth will typically be scheduled during or integrated within the school day to reach the max potential of effectiveness. The goals and objectives of the proposed project are outlined below.
Goal 1- To prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults ages12 to 20 in Owen County
Objective 1: By September 30, 2027, increase positive social norms related to underage drinking as evidenced by 10th graders reporting peer disapproval as wrong/very wrong from 56.9% (2021) to 65% (2027) and youth reporting drinking as risky/very risky from 60.7% (2021) to 70% (2027) as measured by the biennial KIP survey.
Objective 2: By September 30, 2027, reduce opportunities for underage drinking as evidenced by 10th graders reporting a decrease in accessibility, easy or very easy, from 38.5% to 30% by September 2027 as measured on the biennial KIP survey.
Objective 3: By September 30, 2027, create 2 changes in enforcement of underage drinking in the community as evidenced by the number of changes in enforcement practices and policies as measured on REACHing Collaboration. (Baseline is 0)
Objective 4: By September 30,2027 address penalties for underage use through increasing the consistency of the enforcement of underage drinking laws as evidenced by most (over 75%) high school students reporting they would get in trouble (by school, police, and parents) if they drank underage as measured by the annual youth summit. (Baseline is many-between 50%-74%)
Objective 5: By September 30, 2027, reduce negative consequences of underage alcohol use as evidenced by maintaining current or lower rates of DUI charges of 16 (2019) and alcohol related crashes of 7(2019) as measured by Kentucky State Police Reports.