Hialeah Vibe Check - Project Summary The Hialeah Community Coalition (HCC) proposes Hialeah Vibe Check (HVC), a community-driven youth substance use prevention initiative designed to reduce opioid and prescription drug misuse among youth ages 12–18 in Hialeah, Florida. HCC has served the Hialeah community since 2015, leading evidence-based prevention efforts that engage youth, families, schools, healthcare providers, law enforcement, and community organizations to address substance use risk factors and strengthen protective factors. Hialeah youth continue to experience elevated rates of prescription drug misuse and are exposed to increasing risks associated with opioids, counterfeit pills, and fentanyl. Local data indicate that youth access to prescription medications through family and social networks remains a significant concern, while community awareness of the scope and severity of the problem remains limited. Hialeah Vibe Check will implement a comprehensive prevention strategy focused on increasing awareness, reducing access to unused prescription medications, strengthening youth leadership, improving provider response capacity, and enhancing community understanding of youth substance use trends. Key project activities include: * Establishing and supporting a Youth Leadership Team that will help design and deliver prevention initiatives. * Conducting Youth Dialogue Days in local middle and high schools to gather youth perspectives and inform community and school prevention policies. * Producing youth-led social media prevention campaigns and Instagram Live educational programs. * Conducting community surveys to better understand youth opioid and prescription drug use trends and inform prevention planning. * Providing training for healthcare professionals to improve screening, education, referral, and intervention practices related to youth substance use. * Expanding medication disposal opportunities through permanent drug disposal sites and community Drug Take Back events. The project will serve youth and families throughout the City of Hialeah, with particular attention to communities facing social, economic, and cultural factors that increase vulnerability to substance misuse. HCC will collaborate with schools, healthcare providers, law enforcement, pharmacies, faith-based organizations, and youth-serving agencies to implement culturally responsive prevention strategies. Expected outcomes include increased community awareness of opioid and prescription drug risks, greater youth engagement in prevention leadership, enhanced provider capacity to address youth substance use, reduced access to unused prescription medications, and measurable reductions in youth prescription drug misuse and social acceptance of substance use. Through data-driven planning, continuous evaluation, and broad community engagement, Hialeah Vibe Check will strengthen local prevention infrastructure and create sustainable community-level changes that support healthy, drug-free youth.
