Drug Free St. Lucie's Drug Free Prevention Program - Project Abstract Drug Free St. Lucie (DFSL) is a countywide community coalition working to prevent and reduce youth substance misuse and address associated problems in St. Lucie County, Florida. St. Lucie County is located on the East Coast of Florida, 40 miles north of West Palm Beach, with an estimated population of 343,579 residents in the 2022 US Census. In the 2022/2023 school year, there are 26,184 students enrolled in St. Lucie County School District schools grades 6 thru 8. St. Lucie County youth experience a series of risk factors that can contribute to substance use and related consequences. St. Lucie County Schools have a higher rate of economically disadvantaged students than Statewide averages, as well as higher rates of students with a homeless and English Language Learner (ELLE) status youth Statewide. Our student population is racially and ethnically diverse with 31.8% of students Black or African American, above Statewide averages, and 34.8% of students are Hispanic. Strategies throughout the action plan directly target local conditions, as well as risk and protective factors communities of color are experiencing to improve equity and reduce disparities that impact substance use. DFSL will prioritize efforts to prevent and reduce the use of alcohol and marijuana, as well as the misuse of prescription drugs among St. Lucie County middle and high school students, and address negative attitudes and beliefs, misconceptions, and associated problems. DFSL’s project includes prevention strategies designed to prevent substance use before it begins by implementing programs, policies, and practices to prevent the initiation of substance use among youth. The Drug Free Communities Support Program will enhance the current prevention efforts in St. Lucie County by providing DFSL the ability to strengthen collaborations and collectively work with the 12 sectors of our community to reduce and prevent the onset of youth substance use and associated problems among youth and families. By utilizing the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) and incorporating the 7 Strategies for Community-Level Change, the DFC both aligns with and enhances our mission to cultivate a community that supports a substance-free lifestyle and well-being in youth through advocacy and community collaboration. Our partner agencies, other organizations and collaboratives, businesses, and community advocates will address youth substance misuse and the root causes leading to increased rates of risk. This includes implementing community change strategies that will decrease youth access to alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drugs and increase local protective factors such as youth leadership opportunities and drug-free activities, changing norms that support youth substance use, addressing health disparities, and providing data-driven information to the community. Each strategy is mapped to a local condition on the coalition’s logic model, mapping to data associated with short-term, intermediate, and long-term objectives. Activities in our 12-month action plan include providing education and training sessions for youth, parents, educators, and other community members; social norming and marketing campaigns, Town Hall Meetings and Summits, information dissemination; compliance strategies; alcohol and drug-free events for teens; and community capacity building.
