Safe Yakima Partnerships for Success - The Safe Yakima Partnerships for Success (PFS) project is targeting all residents of Yakima County. Regarding how the project will serve a Priority Population, current population estimates the Yakima County at 255,151 residents of whom 50.6% identify as Hispanic/Latino. The Yakima project places an emphasis on Hispanic/Latino youth due to the significant representation in county school districts. Current (2022/23) enrollment numbers among the 12 school districts countywide include 68.1% Hispanic/Latino, 25.7% non-Hispanic White, 3% American Indian, 0.6% Black and 5.6% two or more races combined; 25% of all students countywide are English [second] language learners. (WA OSPI, 2023.) Citizens for Safe Yakima Valley Communities, Inc. (Lead Agency) with a great deal of support from our partners, will facilitate implementation of each component of the SPF (assessment, capacity, planning, implementation, and evaluation) ensuring a high degree of cultural competence and probability for sustainability. The Assessment step will begin with updating the existing Yakima County Epidemiology (Epi) Profile within the first 90 days along with a Behavioral Health Disparities Impact Statement. The updated Epi Profile will provide more complete information on the origin and effect of substance misuse, addiction, and recovery in Yakima County. In addition, the project will engage Yakima County youth in geo-mapping (plotting) and environmental scans (local condition) to identify root causes of alcohol, marijuana, and opioid use/abuse. This new information will be used to strengthen prevention capacity, build infrastructure, and leverage other funding streams and resources using coordinated outreach and messaging strategies. The aim of Safe Yakima PFS is to expand our prevention infrastructure for delivering prevention programs and strategies targeting youth and adults to achieve the following goals: Goal 1: Strengthen prevention capacity and infrastructure at the community level, and Goal 2: Reduce Youth and Adult Substance Use and Substance Abuse-Related Problems. The Safe Yakima PFS strategy incorporates consistent and continuous messaging interfaced with community-wide prevention programming and behavior reinforcement strategies (i.e., wristbands, keychains, pens, etc.). Our infrastructure development strategy expands an existing mix of environmental strategies targeting Yakima County children and youth between the ages of 9 and 20 years of age, parents of school-aged youth, young adults aged 21 to 35, and the broader Hispanic/Latino community.
