FUTURE VT (Families Uniting to Understand & Resolve Substance Effects in Vermont) - Central Vermont Prevention Coalition’s (CVPC) FUTURE VT (Families Uniting to Understand & Resolve Substance Effects in Vermont) is designed to reduce youth cannabis and alcohol use in Central Vermont and to address the larger, more systematic structural issues related to health equity by implementing evidence-based, trauma-informed approaches that are recovery-centered. The primary population to be served are rural youth ages 12-18 and their families, including children living with parents with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD), LGBTQ+ youth, and children living in poverty within Washington County plus five towns in Orange County, Vermont. Central VT has an alarming prevalence of alcohol and cannabis among youth. Youth use cannabis and drink alcohol at higher rates than the national average, and have very low perceptions of harm, perceived peer disapproval of use, and perceived parental disapproval of use. Further, a large proportion of youth live with an adult with an SUD, a risk factor for underage use, and a very large proportion are LGBTQ+, an underserved population that faces a great number of health disparities.
FUTURE VT will follow the Strategic Prevention Framework to identify and respond to community needs. FUTURE VT‘s project goals and selected measurable objectives include: Goal 1) Interrupting generational cycles of addiction in our rural community by increasing the capacity of CVPC and its partners to implement community-based substance misuse services at the family level; 1.1 By September 2029, reduce the percentage of youth who report they have lived with a parent or guardian who was having a problem with alcohol or drug use by 3%. 1.2: By September 2029, increase the percentage of youth who feel they have a parent or adult caregiver who they can talk about how they are feeling to by 5%. 1.3: By September 2029, increase the number of times parents or guardians are speaking to their children about alcohol and drug use to 3 or 4 times a month by 10%. 1.4: By September 2029, reduce the number of children who are removed from their homes because of substance use as a primary factor by 5%. Goal 2) Reducing the onset and progression of cannabis use in school age youth by expanding access to evidence-based strategies in schools and in the community where youth are served; 2.1: By September 2029, increase perception of harm amongst youth in grades 9-12 around cannabis use by 5%. 2.2: By September 2029, increase peer disapproval of cannabis use among youth in grades 9-12 by 5%. 2.3: By September 2029, decrease past 30-day cannabis use in catchment area by youth in grades 9-12 by 5%. 2.4: By September 2029, reduce the number of disciplinary infractions for cannabis use in school settings by 25%. Goal 3) Reducing the onset and progression of alcohol use in school age youth by expanding access to evidence-based strategies in schools and in the community where youth are served. 3.1: By September 2029, increase perception of harm amongst youth in grades 9-12 around alcohol use by 5%. 3.2: By September 2029, increase peer disapproval of cannabis use among youth in grades 9-12 by 5%. 3.3: By September 2029, decrease past 30-day alcohol use in catchment area by youth in grades 9-12 by 5%. 3.4: By September 2029, reduce the number of disciplinary infractions for alcohol use in school settings by 25%.
The estimated unduplicated number of people FUTURE VT will serve 3,495 unduplicated individuals (3,195 youth ages 12-18 and 300 adult caregivers) through individual and small group prevention services through the lifetime of the project. Duplicated, we estimate Year 1: 840, Year 2: 840, Year 3: 1,502, Year 4: 1,887, Year 5: 2,756. An estimated 25,500 will be reached through community prevention messaging and outreach (8,504 youth ages 12-18 and 17,009 adult caregivers). Data will be disaggregated to ensure subpopulations can be identified and engaged, including underserved populations.
