Drug Free Coweta is a 2-year-old community coalition that aims to positively impact youth to reduce substance-using behaviors that may result in unintended, negative consequences. - In 2017 Coweta County was identified as 1 of 4 high needs Georgia communities and was awarded a SAMSHA STR Opioid grant to combat the epidemic. The 2-year-old Drug Free Coweta coalition continues today. It not only targets youth in the community through curriculum strategies, it engages with dual and regularly enrolled teens and young adults on local college campuses through peer education and health education via a SPF Rx grant. AVPRIDE, a continuously funded state provider for 20 years, manages the Coweta Coalition. While Drug Free Coweta has made progress, there is strong community concern that these gains will be lost without new funding. In the last two years, for example, students who were exposed to the Hazelden Prescription Drug curriculum saw an average increase in knowledge of 11.5% in the post-test and some questions saw as much as 24%. In addition, due to community campaigns, there was a 9% increase in parents talking with their teens about the risk of Rx misuse/abuse; a 4.6% increase in people locking up their Rx meds; a 16.1% increase in properly disposing of unused Rx medications; and a 5.5% decrease in people who keep unused Rx medications. Unfortunately, the data indicates that Coweta continues to be a high needs area. Compared to the state of Georgia, the Coweta death rate is 30% higher for opioid deaths (10.8 vs. 8.3) and more than double the state rate per 100,000 for heroin deaths (6.5 vs. 3). From 2016-2018, there were 69 opioid deaths. There are disturbing trends related to youth substance use, as well. Due to the proximity of Coweta County to the Atlanta airport and I85, which runs through the county, Newnan and the other 7 cities in rapidly growing Coweta are particularly vulnerable to drug traffic. The area is considered both rural and high needs, with a 10.4% poverty rate and 40% of the public school students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. About 29% are 18 or younger and 40% are under the age of 29. 71% are white; 25% are African American/Hispanic. Historical and other events that adversely impact Coweta teen substance use include the 2008 economic downturn resulting in a 7% unemployment increase in one year, access to information on the internet, and social media bullying and shunning. From 2016-2018, marijuana use by youth increased 4.5%, (9.5% to 14%). We foresee that the move toward marijuana legalization as well as data indicating significant tobacco and vaping usage may negatively impact the Coweta youth and be a catalyst for increased substance use. The current pandemic and resulting economic and social upheavals certainly will impact the community further. The purpose of Drug Free Coweta's DFC proposal is to reduce youth substance use. The proposal builds on the strong coalition work from the past 2+ years by: 1. continuing to enhance collaborations with local, regional, state, and national partners to prevent and reduce opioid use and marijuana, a rising threat; 2. reducing youth substance use (short term) and adult misuse and abuse (long term). These efforts are addressed in our 9 Month Plan that limits access to substances through safe storage and disposal, continues conversations to change culture within families, healthcare, and the community at large about substance decision making; works with prescribers, community leaders, other health/nonprofit groups, law enforcement and elected officials regarding substance policies/enforcement. Our intended outcomes are to 1. decrease usage of opioids and marijuana; 2. increase perception of harm and parent/peer disapproval for both drugs; 3. decrease opioid/heroin deaths in Coweta County. In March, we had a town hall meeting with 125+ attending and 2,600 reached on social media live. We intend to build on these strong community relations to achieve our outcomes.
