The Boston SPF-PFS Project, led by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), is designed to help reduce the onset and progression of substance misuse and its related problems among Boston youth and young ages 12-21—primarily Black, Latinx and Asian (as well as LGBTQ youth of color)—living in underserved Boston neighborhoods.
Population to be served The majority (well over 50%) of those to be served by the project will be Black and Latinx youth and young adults—meeting the definition of underserved populations. Boston’s Black and Latinx residents are inequitable affected by community violence, large gaps in income and wealth and a range of other health and social inequities. In addition, over 50% of those to be served by the expansion of the prevention activities described in this application will be residents of Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan—three neighborhoods which are home to the majority of Boston’s Black residents and many Latinx residents. These neighborhoods have income levels and educational attainment levels far below that of the city as a whole1—and are inequitably affected by community violence and opioid overdoses.2
Goals, objectives and strategies: The overall goal of the proposed Boston SPF-PFS project is to help reduce the onset and progression of substance misuse and its related problems among Boston youth and young adults of color living in underserved neighborhoods. To achieve this goal, the project has the following objectives:
Objective 1. Assessment: By the end of month 3, complete an assessment identifying substance use concerns that are having negative consequences among our population of focus, as well as risk and protective factors, including identifying sub-populations and specific communities which are at greater risk or underserved
Objective 2. Partnership: By month 6, grow the network of community partners implementing the CopeCode Club prevention campaign from the current 3 (working in East Boston, Allston-Brighton, and Chinatown) to a total of 7 (adding the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain).
Objective 3. Implementation: By month 6, implement the CopeCode Club prevention campaign in 7 Boston neighborhoods, directing engaging 100 youth in year 1 and 150 youth annually in subsequent years to build positive coping skills that reduce the prevalence of mental/behavioral health factors that lead to substance use
Number of people to be served: The project will directly engage 100 youth and young adults in year 1 and 150 annually in subsequent years—for a total of 700 directly served over the project period. Thousands of additional youth and young adults will be reached with prevention messages through social media, paid media and other means.