Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Project Name: Healthy Lincoln County Substance Use Prevention PartnershipLincoln County, Maine is made up 19 towns, including one off-shore island community, spread across over 450 square miles of land, with 450 miles of rocky coastline in the mid-coast region. Our population is about 34,000. We have no cities in our County, and the nearest ?box store? is at least a 30-40-minute drive either east, west, or north. The coastal geography, with its many peninsulas jutting miles into harbors, contributes to strong local village culture, as well as isolation. We have an economic divide which our youth coalition member described as ?lobster boats and sail boats?. For example, the median family incomes of Somerville (an inland village) and Boothbay Harbor are $39,063 and $81,250, respectively. The beauty of the area brings tourists, and wealthy retirees, making our county the oldest in Maine (almost 28% of our population is 65 or older). Yet 18.5% of our children are living in poverty (pre-COVID), and there exists a ?brain drain? of young people leaving for college and rarely coming back due to a scarcity of jobs. Almost 97% of residents describe themselves as White/non-Hispanic. Lincoln County has one of the highest rates of youth who identify as LGBTQ in Maine, and many LGBTQ adults and families are integrated into communities and organizations with varying levels of acceptance. While small town life creates support and a sense of duty to care for one another, our communities are challenged by long-standing reliance on substances to manage stress in the face of economic and social pressures. According to the 2018 Lincoln County Health Profile, our chronic heavy drinking rate for adults is about 9%, compared to 7.6% (Maine) and 5.9% (US), and is common among multi-generational families, particularly in the seafaring communities. With the decriminalization of marijuana in Maine, we expect our first retail marijuana shops to open in summer of 2020. Young children growing up in families who work in the marijuana industry are confused when provided prevention education, with one sixth grader noting, ?my parents finally have a steady paycheck? from their marijuana business. These factors are just some of the context which is contributing to our youth substance use.This project seeks to continue engaging our community in preventing and reducing youth substance use, building on our successes of the past and taking a deeper look into specific disparities, solidifying our systems for long-term success, and equipping the adults in our community with the skills they need to more effectively help our youth make healthy, low risk choices. We seek to reduce the percent of our youth who report drinking alcohol and using marijuana in the past 30 days, and to increase their access to healthy alternatives. We will create a robust system to support our retailers so they can continue to do the right thing, and we will more fully incorporate restorative practices into our schools, organizations, and community. We are motivated to shape our community?s environment with policies and practices which foster a healthy, substance-free life for everyone who lives, works, and plays in Lincoln County, and in particular, our youngest residents.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
