Thursday, April 3, 2025
4/3/2025
North Mississippi Youth Coalition - Alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use are prevalent behaviors among youth in Mississippi. According to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), youth in Mississippi report using alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco at rates that are comparable, or in most cases significantly higher, than national rates of use. This is a significant problem, as alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use are linked to significant consequences across the lifespan. The current grant proposal is focused on supporting activities proposed by the North Mississippi Youth Coalition. The North Mississippi Youth Coalition is a coalition comprised of 12 community sectors from Lafayette County, Mississippi who plan to work collaboratively to prevent and reduce youth use of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco. Our coalition aims to use SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework, and the Seven Strategies for Community-Level Change to guide coalition efforts. A major aim of year 1 will be to continue the comprehensive assessment of youth substance use that was started as a part of writing this grant proposal. Additionally, the receipt of DFC funding will expand the North Mississippi Youth Coalition’s capacity to connect with youth, parents, and community stakeholders and to increase coalition collaboration and prevention efforts. Additionally, the coalition’s initial planning has focused on designing a strategic plan to increase connections between community sectors, increase awareness and knowledge of the prevalence and risks associated with youth substance use, and to work toward reducing youth and adult substance use. If the coalition receives funding, the coalition will meet immediately to execute and refine the goals outlined in this document, with a plan to begin implementation within the first quarter of receiving funding. Finally, evaluation will be ongoing throughout the course of the project and will be used to continuously refine coalition efforts and approaches. Additionally, the coalition’s initiatives and activities are organized to align with the Drug Free Communities logic model, which is based around the Seven Strategies for Community-Level Change. The coalition has identified seven overarching goals that they hope to achieve at the end of five years. Goal 1 is to increase youth knowledge about the risks and consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. Goal 2 is to reduce the number of youth reporting alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use in the past 30 days. Goal 3 is to increase youth perception of risk, parental disapproval, and peer disapproval related to alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. Goal 4 is to reduce the number of substance use-related arrests among youth. Goal 5 is to reduce youth access and opportunity to use alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana by strengthening local policy and regulation efforts. Goal 6 is to increase youth access to programming that bolsters skills related to self-efficacy and positive behavioral support. Goal 7 is to address issues related to health disparities by reducing barriers and increasing access to substance use prevention programming and treatment. Importantly, the goals outlined in the 12-month action plan involve increasing key stakeholder engagement, developing a comprehensive understanding of current community strengths and barriers to addressing youth substance use, strengthening connections between various community sectors, and providing important training/development opportunities. With this important groundwork in place, the coalition will be well positioned to develop and implement programs aimed to foster sustainable, community-level change.
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).