December Coalition News

Visit our website to access a virtual map of coalitions across Washington State. This map includes information on funding source, fiscal agent, location, website, community served and more. Use this tool to find a coalition near you and connect with others working towards our cause.

Access: https://www.preventcoalition.org/partnerships/coalitions/.

The map includes coalitions within Drug Free Communities (DFC), Youth Marijuana Prevention & Education Program (YMPEP) and Community Prevention & Wellness Initiative (CPWI).

This map is growing! If you have edits or suggestions please let us know by emailing preventcoalition@esd112.org.

Prescription drug misuse is among the fastest growing drug problem in the United States and the vast majority of this misuse is due to prescription opioids. Opioids can negatively affect the reward center in the brain, leading users to need more and more over time and as a result these drugs can be highly addictive. Beneficial when used according to a doctor’s instructions, opioid pain medications should be taken only by the person for whom a doctor has prescribed them. People should never share or take a prescription prescribed for someone else. It’s dangerous and illegal.

Wondering what you can do to prevent medication misuse, abuse and accidental poisonings in your community? Having honest conversations with family and friends and taking simple, yet vital steps to safeguard your medications and protects your loved ones. Take the next step. Implement a plan for safe storage and disposal of the medication in your home. Being aware of the location of medications in your home makes a difference. These strategies make your home safer for children, pets and the environment. Take a look around. What are you doing to safeguard your medications?

Your Checklist: Simple, yet vital steps to safeguard your medications and loved ones

1. Store medications safely by keeping them out of reach – lock them in a drawer or cabinet or a medicine lock box.
2. Properly dispose of unused and expired medications at a free take-back site near you.
3. Talk to your doctor about other ways to manage pain.
4. Ask your pharmacist to fill prescriptions partially.
5. Never share or take a prescription that wasn’t prescribed for you. It’s dangerous and illegal.
6. Have conversations with friends and family about the dangers of opioids and the risks of misusing prescription drugs.

Talking to your friends and family about the risks and dangers associated with opioids and prescription drug misuse can be tough, but it may be the most important thing you do.

Learn more at GetTheFactsRx.com.

Do meeting participants have any responsibility beyond showing up, reporting, and trying to sound reasonably on top of things? Here’s the guiding principle:

When we decide against trying to influence the quality of a meeting, we make the choice to live with the consequences.

Click here to read the full article and learn how "throwing pebbles" and small acts of courage can influence the course of a meeting - even when you're not in charge.

By Guila Muir, Expert Trainer of Trainers and Facilitator.

Early-bird registration for a reduced price ends December 31. Register and Learn More About Forum.

National Leadership Forum

February 1-4, 2021

Virtual Prevention & Advocacy Event

Community Anti-Drug Coalition's of America (CADCA)

During Forum, you will get an opportunity to attend a variety of courses to expand your knowledge in prevention science and improve your skills in implementing evidence-based strategies. These in-depth courses are relevant for established emerging coalitions. Monday, February 1, will center around SAMHSA’s Prevention Day. Tuesday through Thursday will feature 12 training session blocks, which are 1.25 hours in length, with 15-minute wellness breaks following the first three sessions each day. The wellness breaks showcase low to high intensity workout videos designed to give attendees a good stretch. Course content covers various subject areas and are designed to be interactive.

Enhanced Prevention Learning Series (EPLS)

The Northwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center Network (NW PTTC) is offering an enhanced online learning series.

• An EPLS is a sequenced, synchronous online learning event, commonly delivered over several weeks to increase participants’ knowledge and skills application on specific topics.
• Participants log into a web-portal each week to obtain reading material or to view pre-recorded materials.
• Participants join live web-based, video-conferencing sessions with experts who facilitate discussion on the posted materials, provide opportunities to apply skills, receive feedback and share experiences.

Leveraging Systems Change in Substance Misuse Prevention

Wednesdays, January 6 - February 10, 2021

Series Overview:

This six-week distance learning series offers an interactive experience for participants to explore the role of systems change in substance misuse prevention. Participants will examine capacities shown to enable evidence-based interventions to achieve and sustain expected results and learn how to incorporate these into their work. Trainers will share examples from their own systems change experiences and will highlight how leveraging leadership, communications, funding, and data can help participants to achieve their prevention goals. The distance learning series will include skill-based learning opportunities, individual and group activities, reading assignments, and group discussion.

Cost: Free

Space is limited to 25 participants. Click here to register and learn more.

Rural Network Meeting

December 29, 2020

2 - 3:30 p.m.

Click here to access meeting minutes from November.

Questions?

Email preventcoalition@esd112.org or learn more and to subscribe for meeting reminders.

• Toolkit: Respond to the poll to share what toolkit item you think we should start building first. The workgroup created a vision board, and will create a six-month action plan for January-June at our next meeting.
• Website: We've updated our Rural Partners page. Want to be featured? Let us know!
• Map: Visit the new website map of coalitions across Washington. Find a coalition near you, their funding source, location served and more. Have edits? Send them our way.
• Assessment: Clark County Public Health should finish our Needs Assessment Part 2: Healthy Youth Survey of rural communities by the end of the month/early January.
• Training: The Epidemiology team at Clark County Public Health is preparing a two-day online webinar for the Rural Network that will teach how to gather, analyze and use qualitative data. The training is tentatively scheduled for March 2021. We'll provide more information as we have it.

For a full grant progress timeline visit www.preventcoalition.org/rural/our-work/.

Teens in rural areas have experienced higher tobacco use rates than non-rural teens. Unlike the tobacco industry, which has developed multiple brands exclusively for rural audiences, tobacco prevention efforts tend to target all teens at once with a single teen campaign, limiting their ability to be tailored and responsive to the unique lifestyles, values, and culture of rural teens.

Watch this video to gain a deeper understanding of rural teens’ unique characteristics that should be incorporated into targeted and tailored rural teen prevention efforts to begin to close the tobacco use gap.

Washington’s Safe Medication Return Program, a pioneering effort aimed at reducing medication misuse, abuse, and poisonings is now live.

This program creates a unified, statewide, medication return program that will give Washington residents free, convenient, and environmentally responsible options for disposing of unwanted medication. Physical drop boxes are available. People may also request free mail-back envelopes so they don’t need to leave their homes to participate.

People may return most medications. That includes over-the-counter and prescription medications, controlled substance medication, and even household pet medications. Unused and unneeded medications in a household pose a potential risk for poisoning and overdose deaths. Improperly discarded medication also presents an environmental hazard. Flushing medicine down the toilet or throwing it in the trash pollutes water and soil.

Washington is the first state to implement such a program as a result of state law. Funded by drug manufacturers at no cost to taxpayers, the program encourages people to return unwanted and expired medications.

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says about 50 percent of people who misuse prescription medications get the drugs from friends or family members. Many people who become addicted to heroin and other illicit drugs first abuse prescription medications found in the home. Poisonings often occur among young children who take medication not intended for them.

MED-Project is the approved program operator , under the Department of Health’s oversight.

You may now apply for the Adapting Botvin LifeSkills Curriculum Grant, Readiness to Implement LifeSkills Grant, and the LifeSkills Substance Abuse Prevention Grant until December 17th. Apply now in iGrants! Grant made available by Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

Learn more by visiting the OSPI bulletin: Grant Deadline Extended (govdelivery.com).

Prevent Coalition events:

Rural Office Hours (Drop in for guidance/Technical Assistance. No formal agenda)

Wednesday December 2

1-2 p.m.

Online virtual conference call.

Rural Network Meeting (Collaboration of rural volunteers and leaders across Washington)

Tuesday December 29

2-3:30 p.m.

Online virtual conference call.

Liquor & Cannabis Board Virtual Prevention Roundtable

Thursday December 17

10 - 12 p.m.

Online virtual event.

Click for full calendar of coalition and community events.

Community events not sponsored by Prevent Coalition:

12/7 Webinar: Adolescents, Young Adults and Opioid Use: When Is It a Problem? What to Do?

12/9 Webinar: Zoom Zoom: Helping Virtual Sessions Take Off!

12/9 Webinar: LGBTQ youth tobacco prevention: COVID-19 and lung vulnerability

12/9 Webinar: Let’s talk cannabis: A capacity-building training for influential adults

12/15 Webinar: Navigating Virtual Legislative Session

12/15 Webinar: E-Cigarettes: Finding the truth among the vapors

1/13/2021 Webinar: E-Cigarettes: Finding the truth among the vapors

Our mission is connecting and supporting communities to build resilience and prevent youth substance use. We envision a healthy, thriving community free of substance abuse.

Forward this newsletter to a friend, colleague or youth leader. You may also pass our news link along: bit.ly/preventnews.

Email: preventcoalition@esd112.org
Website: www.PreventCoalition.org
Location: 2500 NE 65th Ave., Vancouver, WA, USA
Phone: 360-952-3457
Facebook: Facebook.com/PreventCoalition
Twitter: @preventcc112