Empower STOP Act 2025 Application - Upstream Prevention, Inc. is proud to serve as the fiscal agent for Empower Johnson County's STOP Act Grant application. Formed in 2015, Empower has focused on empowering the Johnson County Community to reduce and prevent youth substance abuse through advocacy, education, and enforcement. Empower has demonstrated success in reducing youth alcohol use and increasing and maintaining high levels of perceived parental disapproval (also a priority focus) since its inception. However, sustained early initiation of alcohol use and a shocking drop in the perception of harm indicate Johnson County needs additional efforts with a broadened focus. If awarded, Empower will reduce alcohol use by focusing on reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors, specifically the perception of harm of substance use, and community rewards for prosocial involvement. We have outlined strategies to complement the current initiatives in the community, including an updated logic model, peer-to-peer messaging created by our Empowered Youth coalition, attendance and involvement at local governmental meetings, hosting community educational opportunities, and substance-free events for youth and parents. These efforts will focus on impacting our youth and the caring adults in their lives throughout Johnson County, Indiana (population 167,000). Key objectives to be achieved in this project include: (1.1) maintain community awareness of youth substance abuse problems (baseline of 7.5 in 2020) each budget year, (1.2) increase the proportion of 8th and 10th grade students at high protection for community rewards for prosocial involvement by 16 percentage points from the 2020 baseline (from 28% to 36% for 8th graders; from 34% to 42% for 10th graders) by September 29, 2025, (2.1) decrease the past 30-day use of alcohol by 8th grade students from the 2020 baseline of 6% to 5% and 10th grade alcohol use from the 2020 baseline of 19% to 17% by September 29, 2025, and (2.2) increase the proportion of 8th and 10th-grade students who perceive substance use to be harmful by 12 percentage points from the 2020 baseline (12% to 24% for 8th and 29% to 41% for 10th graders) by September 29, 2025. We estimate to serve 28,824 individuals each year, for a cumulative total of 115,296 duplicated individuals.
