O.P.P.S. Coalition Preventing Underage Drinking - The O.P.P.S. Coalition Preventing Underage Drinking project will implement a comprehensive, community-based underage drinking prevention initiative serving the cities of Blytheville (72315) and Gosnell (72319) in Mississippi County, Arkansas. The project will focus on youth ages 12-20 and their parents and caregivers and address local conditions contributing to underage drinking, including social access to alcohol, low perception of harm, favorable community norms, and alcohol availability within the home. Utilizing the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF), evidence-based prevention programming, environmental strategies, and community mobilization, the coalition will strengthen prevention capacity, reduce youth access to alcohol, increase perceptions of risk, and promote healthy, alcohol-free lifestyles. The initiative will engage youth, parents, schools, law enforcement, healthcare providers, retailers, businesses, faith organizations, and community leaders in coordinated prevention efforts. Project activities and outcomes will align with the requirements of the STOP Act and SAMHSA priorities for underage drinking prevention. Geographic Area: The project will serve Blytheville and Gosnell, Arkansas, located in Mississippi County in northeastern Arkansas, with an estimated combined population of approximately 16,316 residents. The service area includes Blytheville High School, Blytheville Middle School, Gosnell High School, and Gosnell Middle School, which serve a substantial portion of the local youth population. Population of Focus: The primary population of focus is youth ages 12–20, including middle school, high school, and young adult populations, along with their parents and caregivers. The project specifically addresses factors contributing to underage drinking and alcohol misuse among adolescents and young adults within the service area. Project Goal 1: Increase community capacity to prevent and reduce youth underage drinking through strengthened partnerships, stakeholder engagement, environmental prevention strategies, and community education. Key objectives include establishing an Alcohol Taskforce, engaging alcohol retailers in prevention initiatives, implementing Sticker Shock campaigns, expanding parent education efforts, and increasing community participation in prevention activities. Project Goal 2: Prevent and reduce underage drinking and alcohol misuse among youth ages 12–20 through evidence-based prevention programming, youth engagement, environmental strategies, and community awareness efforts. Objectives include reducing past 30-day alcohol use among youth, increasing perceived risk of alcohol use, decreasing alcohol availability within the home, increasing peer disapproval of underage drinking, strengthening parent knowledge and communication through the evidence-based Guiding Good Choices program, reducing parental provision of alcohol to youth, conducting Town Hall meetings, and expanding alcohol-free youth activities. Through these coordinated strategies, the O.P.P.S. Coalition seeks to achieve measurable reductions in underage drinking, strengthen protective factors, increase community awareness, and create sustainable environmental changes that support healthy youth development and long-term reductions in alcohol-related harm throughout Mississippi County.
