The Bullitt County Youth Coalition will help prevent and reduce youth nicotine and marijuana use in Bullitt County by providing trainings, educational events and community collaboration. - Bullitt County Youth Coalitions mission is to reduce the substance use within our youth population and to concentrate on ways they can educate parents and youth on ways to prevent and reduce youth substance misuse. Bullitt County Public Schools will be a learning community that will educate all students to high levels of academic performance by creating and maintaining a positive learning environment with a comprehensive system of support. Currently, the district serves approximately 14,000 youth who come from the Bullitt County Public Schools (BCPS). "Drug Free Communities" Grant will help prevent and reduce nicotine and marijuana use for youth in Bullitt County ages 12-18. Bullitt County has a mix of suburban and rural areas throughout Bullitt County, Kentucky. BCPS understands that according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Coordinated School Health model, student achievement is directly linked to many other components including mental, physical, nutritional, and behavioral and emotional health, as well as parent and community involvement. All of these components must be in place to surround students with an enjoinment conducive to learning and success. BCPS is dedicated to creating an environment where students can be healthy and well. If awarded the Drug Free Communities Grant BCPS, local law enforcement, Bullitt County Youth Coalition as well as the local Bullitt County Health Department will work in prevention areas through many activities for students and the community. We plan to have multiple events for the project, including providing youth and family weekend and after school events that enhance community and family involvement. We will utilize social norms messaging through our county Kentucky for Incentives for Prevention (KIP) data that indicate data from our own students. Bullitt County Public Schools will oversee research-based curricula and SEL programs for our health and PE teachers that address the effects of substance misuse that will reduce opportunities for underage nicotine use and the use of marijuana. Additionally, this staff member will work with schools and students in providing additional support to students and families with case management and support for reducing use and assisting families with ongoing support. We see a need for adults in our community who serve school-aged children to better understand the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of mental illnesses and addictions through Youth Mental Health First Aid Training as well as Trauma-Informed Care. Through this training, it will help identify multiple types of professional and self-help resources for individuals with mental illness or addiction, increase their confidence in and likelihood to help an individual in distress, and show increased mental wellness themselves. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) state that research suggests that the use of nicotine and marijuana during the teen years could interfere with normal brain development. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death, often leading to lung cancer, respiratory disorders, heart disease, stroke, and other serious illnesses. The CDC reports that cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. In 2021, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, with 18.7% of people aged 12 or older (or 52.5 million people) using it in the past year. Marijuana can impair judgment and distort perception in the short term and can lead to memory impairment in the long term. Marijuana can have significant health effects on youth and pregnant women. For these reasons the Bullitt County Youth Coalition will focus on these two areas to provide education to our youth and parents in Bullitt County.
