All In Clayton Coalition
This grant will provide students the opportunity to participate in Try-POD, Teen Institute, Red Ribbon and other youth leadership opportunities offered in the community. It will allow for the coalition to reach all sectors of Clayton and the St. Louis community through website management and social media campaigns. The Awaken project will also be brought into the high school to educate youth on drug education, prevention and to encourage youth to make healthy choices. Parents, caregivers and community members will receive information and education on drug trends. Community stakeholders will have the opportunity to gather and discuss how to join and positively impact the community as a united force for prevention work. This grant will also assist All In in becoming a member of the Clayton Chamber of Commerce.
Alliance for Healthy Communities
The requested funds will be leveraged in support of the implementation of the youth leadership training Stand Up 9!. Stand Up 9! serves 9th grade students, providing them a one-day training event and membership in AHC’s youth coalition, Teen Voice for Change. Participating students receive substance misuse training and orientation to project planning and implementation.
Belton CARES
This project will support the Belton CARES mission to direct, support and actively coordinate efforts of the community to significantly reduce substance use, promote youth safety, reduce bullying, support mental health issues, and thereby improve the health and well-being of the community. This project will educate the community on the risk involved with the underage use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and will promote safe decision-making.
Benton County Youth Coalition
The purpose of the project is to provide education for youth and adults to increase youth social and emotional well-being, which will include substance abuse prevention and cessation. This will include public presentations, education information, messaging, and activities designed to educate the general populace as well as youth and those who parent, guide, and teach them. Presentation of the core issues of prevention and educating the public through healthy prevention messaging will be done with a focus on changing norms in the region. This is part of a three year vision to help youth in our community to recognize and reduce stressors in their lives, recognize they have value and purpose, and encourage their emotional and social well-being.
Breathe Easy Kirksville
Breathe Easy Kirksville [BEK] will: collaborate with the district afterschool program to implement the researchbased “Tobacco Tips” social skills/social competence prevention education curriculum and establish a BEK Youth Coalition.
Brighter Futures Lafayette County Team Coalition
The Brighter Futures Consortium is looking to build on our existing services relating to drug and alcohol prevention, education and intervention. With the ACT Missouri Grant we will be able to include the Arrive Alive Tour to the Lexington R-V School District’s bi annual drinking/texting driving prevention program for the 2019-2020 school year. This program will be offered to all 8-12 grade Lexington R-V students and students attending the Lex La Ray Vocational Technical Center. The coalition will also look at supplying prevention materials to 5000 plus students attending Lafayette County schools during Red Ribbon Week. Finally the grant will allow us to purchase a 3-12 grade Life Skill curriculum to be utilized by a select group of coalition members attending a train the trainer training for the purpose of implementing this program in their schools throughout Lafayette County.
Butler County We Can Be Drug Free Coalition
The Youth Vaping Prevention Project will use media, fact sheets and resource kits to increase awareness of youth, parents and school staff about the risks associated with vaping, and will increase awareness of adults on the products that are used to vape.
Carthage Caring Communities Coalition
The Carthage Caring Communities Coalition seeks to work with Carthage High School in order to develop a SADD chapter and provide peer-to-peer outreach and education to address youth beliefs and attitudes as well as perception of risk associated with using ATOD.
Charleston C2000
The Project will implement an alcohol and drug prevention program for 60 at risk Charleston youth ages 10 -14 and their parents, resulting in increasing youth, parent, and community awareness and decreasing the risk of youth alcohol and drug use. There will be a structured on-going educational component utilizing prevention videos, presenters from local, state law enforcement Departments, Prevention Resource Center professionals, Mississippi County Health Department and volunteer adult mentors as resources. Also, after school tutoring will expand to include remediation in math, science and reading; and a seven-week parenting class will be offered. There will also be a recreational activities component for the youth and parents.
Christian County Coalition on Substance Misuse
Our coalition will utilize an on-air radio program aimed at informing our community and the surrounding communities about prevention, awareness, use, addiction and overdose, and suicide among our youth. We will also be able to conduct town hall readiness meetings with many of the cities in our county to reach as many families as possible. We believe that knowledge is the power in prevention. Our town hall meetings will include informative literature and engaging discussion from our coalition members.
Communities Taking Action
It is the plan of the Communities Taking Action board of directors to sponsor, maintain, and provide after school tutoring 4 nights a week throughout the school year. This enables Communities Taking Action (CTA) to reach at risk students more frequently . With funding from this mini grant, CTA plans to continue the LifeSkills High School Curriculum during the 2019-2020 school year. Lessons for LifeSkills will be taught by LifeSkills Coordinator. We also plan to implement a Children’s Library. This library will be open during the summer months to increase literacy and comprehension for youth in our community. Partnering with North Shelby and South Shelby Parents As Teachers (PAT) is another way we would like to help families in our community. Providing funds to purchase items for group connections that encourage parent/child interaction will be the most effective way for our coalition to accomplish this goal. Supporting our local TRACTION by purchasing items to help them establish an obstical course to reinforce their safe driving message will be our last goal.
Council for Drug Free Youth
Council for Drug Free Youth employes the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) to engage community partners to prevent substance use in our community. Communication Offers Positive Enrichment (COPE) is a program to enlighten, inform, and engage 7th grade students throughout central Missouri about the importance of communication in resisting substance misuse and abuse. The COPE program uses the seven strategies of prevention to provides information, enhance skills, and provide support to empower youth to live drug free. This best practice model uses cultural competency, understanding, and communication to help prevent misuse of alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and vapes/e-cigs, as well as prevent bullying, and suicide.
CRUSH St. Louis
The purpose of this grant is to reach the under served Bosnian community of St. Louis County in order to effectively give prevention information and education to their youth, and to the older generations, many of whom may not have fully assimilated the American culture and/or have not learned English. This will be achieved through outwardly visible media outlets with translated prevention messages being strategically placed in the Bosnian community, and through the dissemination of translated prevention information at community events.
Dallas County Live Well Alliance
Dallas County Live Well Alliance (DCLWA) is striving to create a healthier Dallas County. Dallas County R-1 Schools are the home to the Buffalo Bison and are the heart of Dallas County. DCLWA is striving to “Build Healthy Bison”. DCLWA has been in existence since December 2015 and recognized as a formal coalition since March of 2016, so we are still learning and growing as a coalition with the assistance of Community Partnership of the Ozarks (CPO). DCLWA would utilize the requested funds to continue progress sparked through the 2018-2019 ACT Mini Grant. DCLWA would continue membership recruitment, continue community outreach, especially youth directed community outreach with a possible 4H partnership and also provide community resources-work to fill gaps identified by the coalition. DCLWA will be working to create a presence and recognition in the Community through promotional efforts and creation of a vision statement. Dallas County has been on a progressive trend the past five years, with a GRO Buffalo Initiative and similar initiatives and DCLWA, with the help of ACT Missouri, is looking to “Build Healthy Bison”
Douglas County Community Health Assessment Resource Team (CHART) & Interagency Council
Douglas County CHART’s project will be Building Up Youth and the Community. CHART will host Legislative Report meetings to allow conversation between our representatives, local government, and concerned citizen leadership. CHART will promote the community Medication Take Back Events in October and April. Much of the project will to be to promote and provide alternative activities and supplies to the new Youth Activity Center. Together all these activities will build up youth and the community of Douglas County.
Drug Responsibility Education & Advocacy Movement (DREAM)
The Drug Responsibility Education and Advocacy Movement (DREAM) Coalition focuses on providing education on proper storage and disposal of prescription medications and increasing awareness of the dangers of misusing prescription medications. DREAM Coalition will collaborate with other partners in Greene County to host community forums where community members can learn from city leaders, prevention specialists, healthcare professionals, and law enforcement personnel. DREAM Coalition will continue to provide Generation Rx education, bi-annual drug take back initiatives, and increase awareness of permanent medication drop boxes. The purpose of the project is to educate the public on safe medication storage and disposal practices and provide resources to assist the public in safely storing and disposing of their medications. The goal of this project is to decrease medication diversion and misuse. The purpose of the project is to educate the public on safe medication storage and disposal practices and provide resources to assist the public in safely storing and disposing of their medications. The goal of this project is to decrease medication diversion and misuse.
Excelsior Springs S.A.F.E. (Supporting Abuse Free Environments)
Tigers with Vision is the High School Youth Prevention group affiliated with Excelsior Springs SAFE (Substance Abuse-Free Environments). Tigers with Vision and SAFE have identified underage drinking and safe teen driving as two prevention priorities that need to be targeted in Excelsior Springs. Tigers with Vision plans a Positive Choices campaign to educate their high-school-aged peers on the risks of underage drinking, as well as the importance of making good decisions for safe and sober driving. There will be a social marketing campaign, education about the risks of underage drinking/drunk driving and the importance of making safe choices, and a peer to peer education component. Student leaders and Tigers with Vision members will receive leadership training to empower them to educate their peers on these topics. A parent component of the campaign will involve education and skill-building, enabling parents to have the knowledge and skills to talk with their child about underage drinking and safe driving.
ForReal
The goal of the 2020 Youth Advocacy Engagement Project is to unite the voices of the youth of the Eastern Region of Missouri and empower them to advocate about substance use issues at the local, state, and federal levels.
Franklin County Youth Coalition
This grant will provide opportunities for middle schools to participate in student-led prevention activities throughout the 2019-2020 school year. Coordinating a county-wide Sticker Shock program will allow students to learn specific prevention information and skills, and encourage them to help continue to increase connections with other youth leaders in this age group. The Advocacy Training and Legislative Education programs also encourage connections with state legislators, providing opportunities for community collaboration that will ensure success.
Healthy Dent County Prevention Coalition
The vaping prevention project is designed to educate both a targeted group of parents and youth in an effort to prevention youth use of e-cigarettes. The project is reaching parents of 7th and 8th graders in the county through a series of three, over-sized full-color postcards with information about e-cigarettes, the effects of nicotine, addiction and how to talk with kids about vaping. In addition, the project is reaching 7th and 8th grade students through posters and electronic displays at school with vaping prevention messages. A team of trained high school students will provide a vaping prevention program through classroom presentations with all 7th and 8th grade students in the participating school districts in the county. In addition, coalition members are visiting ecigarette retailers in the county to enlist their support and prevent sales to minors.
Healthy Living Alliance (HLA) Tobacco Committee
Smoke Free Homes Springfield is an evidence-based campaign to reduce the negative effects of tobacco use and secondhand smoke impacting our youth. This will be accomplished through the implementation of smoke-free policies in multi-family housing properties and an education and awareness campaign about the importance of choosing smoke-free housing.
Heartland Task Force
Heartland Task Force will: collaborate with the local afterschool program to implement the research-based Second Step SEL curriculum.A HTF 40 Developmental Asset Specialist will support this strategy and plan, implement, and evaluate a substance use prevention and SEL educational initiative for area families/community.
HOPE for Franklin County
This project supports a county-wide video PSA Competition for middle and high school aged youth in Franklin County. Entries in the competition will fit the theme of “Send A Message About Marijuana”, and will be 30 seconds in length. The funds will provide assistance with securing a large event venue where the competition winners will be announced and an educational presentation about the impact of marijuana use on the developing brain will be the focal point. Winners will be aired on the county-wide Charter Spectrum channels that reach youth, and a Facebook media boost plan will regularly share posts that educate about marijuana. Postcard sized materials that highlight the warning signs of cannabis use disorder will be produced and shared with all Mercy and BJC medical outlets throughout the county as well.
Jefferson County Drug Prevention Coalition (JCDPC)
The coalition is working with community partners to create resource kits for those individuals in the county who might have overdosed or at at risk of an overdose. This is an attempt to save lives by offering local resources in an easy to read and discrete way.
Joplin Safe Teens Coalition
JASTC proposes to address youth access to alcohol.
Kearney-Holt CAN
Being a student today can be really tough and Kearney-Holt CAN, a coalition working to reduce youth substance use, is concerned that area youth are attempting to solve their problems by coping with alcohol and other drugs. Kearney youth engage in substance use (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and prescription drug use) as a solution to their problems because they lack resilience skills. In order to address this need, Kearney-Holt CAN members plan to build protective factors and resilience skills among youth through a multiple prong approach that involves education presentations and a media campaign.
Lawrence County Prevention Team
The Lawrence County Prevention Team’s project titled; Drugs or Alcohol + Kids = Risk sets the goal to increase community awareness about the harmful effects of marijuana use and prescription/over-the-counter (RX/OTC) misuse, and reduce the use and misuse of these substances by children and young adults age 10-24.
Lee's Summit CARES
Established in 1985, it is the mission of Lee’s Summit CARES (LSC) to prevent youth substance use and violence, empower positive parenting and promote exemplary character. Programming helps create a positive community climate that supports protective factors and reduces risky behaviors. The goal of LSC’s youth prevention program is to increase assets that promote resilience and reduce risk factors. Developing the ability to refuse alcohol and drug use builds resilience, protects adolescent brain development and encourages positive, healthy and responsible decisions during school years and beyond.
Lincoln County Drug and Alcohol Reduction Team
The purpose of this project is to raise awareness in Lincoln County regarding the dangers of prescription drug misuse, the link between prescription drug misuse and heroin use, and the dangers associated with alcohol and other drug misuse. This grant will allow Lincoln County Drug and Alcohol Reduction Team to host a Teen Drug Summit to educate the youth. It will also aid in the dissemination of information on safe Rx drug storage/disposal and other substance misuse information, and help to further build the coalition’s capacity.
MAAG - Mid-MO Addiction Awareness Group
The purpose of this request is to educate adults in Franklin County about the facts about Substance Use Disorder as a brain disease, and this disease’s willingness to take over the lives of families. This grant will educate parents, grandparents and other caregivers about the continuing rate of overdose deaths, the science of addiction and recovery, and how to spot signs that a teen may be concealing their drug use from the adults who live with them.
McDonald County Community Coalition
MCCC seeks to address ease of retail access to smokeless tobacco and to prevent increased vaping among underage youth in McDonald County.
Miss. Co. Youth Drug Prevention Coalition
Miss. Co. Youth Drug Prevention Coalition is prosing to implement “The Time to Quit” Project. The project will be directed toward the long term effects of Vaping and asking youth to commit and not Vap. Middle School aged students will be presented educational information during class sessions about the dangers of vaping and information will also be shared throughout the county with parents and the community as a whole. A strong media campaign will be built to help promote and build awareness around the issue that will be reach a Tri-State area.
Missouri S & T Prevention Coalition
Concerns about mental health in the higher education setting have grown rapidly in recent years. Students report rising levels of stress and struggle to cope in healthy ways. Reports of students using alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drugs as a means of coping are concerning. This grant will provide a comprehensive strategy to address mental well-being of students by providing educational opportunities to build resiliency and stress management skills, preventing the use of alcohol and drugs as coping mechanisms, and reducing access to prescription drugs.
Morgan County C.L.E.A.R. (Community Leaders Educating About Resistance)
Morgan County CLEAR will raise awareness about the risks of substance use, reduce substance use, and build a commitment to change the social norms that encourage substance use and favor attitudes of low perceived risk of harm with substance use through a variety of activities with the targeted population of 10 to 18 year olds and their parents. A media campaign; educational presentations; collaboration with parent and youth groups; public forums, town hall meetings and partnerships as well as others will be a part of the actions. Substances to be targeted are alcohol (including binge), marijuana, prescription drugs, and tobacco including e-cigarettes, vapor products, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco (chew).
Northland Coalition
Northland Coalition members are excited to address youth substance use by increasing resiliency, reducing selfmedication, and building coping skills. To address ATOD use by youth, we will spend the next fiscal year implementing a comprehensive education and skill building campaign. Activities include expanding our Roots of Resilience campaign and hosting the Northland Prevention Conference
Osage County Anti-Drug Community Action Team
The mission of Osage County Anti-Drug Community Action Team (OCADCAT) is to change lives by empowering communities to combat substance abuse and its related problems at home, school, and work with proven, practical resources, prevention, education, recovery, and advocacy. Key terms from our mission are change, empower, substance abuse, and related problems. We have not only focused our efforts on the education of school-aged children, but also on the adults who model behavior for adolescents in our community. To enact any successful change in behavior or mindset of children and teenagers, we know adults must also be persuaded change and growth is needed. OCADCAT is requesting grant funds to educate and change the mindset of our community on topics of underage drinking, substance abuse, and related problems such as mental health and wellbeing. The activities funded by the grant will be centered on a media campaign to decrease alcohol and substance abuse, school based programs to promote positive behaviors in students and showcase students as role models, increase community awareness of OCADCAT, and educate students on mental health issues, as they often are associated with alcohol and drug use. The following programs and activities will be implemented in Osage County:
- Student of the Month Recognition- Each high school in Osage County will select a student who has pledged to be alcohol and drug free, and who serves as a positive role model for their community. Each high school will recognize two students per year. The students will be featured in the local newspaper.
- Articles of Interest- OCADCAT will use grant funds to publish articles of interest concerning alcohol abuse, substance abuse, and mental health. Contributors will be individuals such as the Osage County Prosecuting Attorney.
- School Based Programs- OC-ADCAT will partner with CDFY to provide school based programs (COPE and TEAM) to all 7th and 8th grade students in Osage County. The programs will aim to increase student knowledge on abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; as well as promote leadership and collaboration among youth participants.
- Increase Community Awareness of Vaping- OCADCAT will provide information cards to students and community members on the effects of vaping and e-cigarettes. The cards will have OCADCAT listed as a sponsor to promote awareness of the organization and the harmful effects of vaping and e-cigarettes.
Ozarks Fighting Back
The overall purpose of this project is to increase the college community of the consequences of underage and binge drinking by implementing prevention strategies that can decrease the community norms and attitudes favorable towards use as well as the prevalence of use. This project’s education strategies will focus on college- aged individuals, parents and community members. This project plan is to create an online prevention resource library for universities/college personnel; students to be educated on social norming and develop social norming campaigns on campuses to reduce underage and binge drinking and create a prevention guide on how to talk to your student for parents.
Park Hill Community Alliance for Youth
To reduce youth substance use (alcohol, marijuana, nicotine, Rx drugs) in the Park Hill area, we plan to use this funding for two goals:
- Expand/enhance the overall capacity of the Park Hill Community Alliance for Youth and
- Increase adult capabilities to build resilience in youth through the Roots of Resilience campaign. We believe these strategies of providing information, building skills and capacity building will drastically change the environment of our youth.
Pemiscot Coalition for Alternative Youth Involvement
This project will primarily focus on African American youth ages 10-15 living in Caruthersville Mo and surrounding communities to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors by promoting positive youth development. This project will expose youth in an out of school environment (after school and summer) to education and information about substance use prevention and the harmful effects, to guest speakers who talk about their consequences of using the different substances, to alternative activities that help build character and trainings for youth and staff from the Search Institute on the 40 Developmental Assets, Developmental Relationships and Sparks. This project will provide transportation for youth, to and from the Outreach Community Support Center to participate in this project.
Perry County Community Task Force
The LifeSkills Prevention Program is one that utilizes the Botvin LifeSkills Training curriculum, which is an evidence-based program. This curriculum is taken directly into the classrooms and taught to the students during the school day. This program works with several different age/grade levels. The Perry County Community Task Force will be working with grades 6-10 during this program. This curriculum focuses on the life skills needed in everyday life for success. These topics include knowledge about substances and how they effect the body, resistance skills, communication skills, how to handle peer pressure, how to cope with anxiety and anger, and how to recognize media influences, especially relating to substance use. The Signs of Suicide Program is also worked into the curriculum. This program talks about being able to recognize the signs of depression and to talk to a trusted adult. This program is offered to all schools in Perry County. The sixth graders will have at least two sessions, the seventh graders will have four sessions, the eighth graders will have a twelve week program, the ninth graders will have a seven week program, and the tenth graders will have four sessions. The sessions are approximately one hour long each.
Phelps County Child Advocacy Network (PCCAN)
The project is reaching parents of 7th and 8th graders in the county through a series of three, over-sized full-color postcards with information about e-cigarettes, the effects of nicotine, addiction and how to talk with kids about vaping. In addition, the project is reaching 7th and 8th grade students through posters and electronic displays at school with vaping prevention messages. A team of trained high school students will provide a vaping prevention program through classroom presentations with all 7th and 8th grade students in the participating school districts in the county.
Platte County Prevention Coalition
Platte County Prevention Coalition (PC2), a coalition working to reduce youth substance use, is concerned that area youth are attempting to solve their problems by coping with alcohol and other drugs. Platte County R-3 youth engage in substance use (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and prescription drug use) as a solution to their problems because they lack resilience skills. In order to address this need, PC2 members plan to build protective factors and resilience skills among youth through a multiple prong approach that involves educational activities and a media campaign.
Reynolds County Maternal, Child, and Family Health Coalition
Reynolds County Maternal Child Health Coalition
Risco C2000
Risco C2000 would first and foremost like to educate students on making good choices in their daily lives. We would like to increase protective factors of students in our extremely rural area. We will do this by using evidence based prevention education strategies. We would also like to provide evidence based alternative strategies including a safe environment for students high risk events.
Southeast Kansas City Youth Prevention Coalition
SEYC facilitates positive youth health outcomes by empowering families and communities through education, community connectedness,and behavioral health services. Our general strategies include:
- Develop and support innovative community programming
- Educate the public about youth and family issues Serve as an access hub for state and local health and wellness resources
- Maintain funding for programs and services that promote positive outcomes in the Southeast community
St. Francois County Community Partnership
The project is reaching parents of 7th and 8th graders in the county through a series of three, over-sized full-color postcards with information about e-cigarettes, the effects of nicotine, addiction and how to talk with kids about vaping. In addition, the project is reaching 7th and 8th grade students through posters and electronic displays at school with vaping prevention messages. A team of trained high school students will provide a vaping prevention program through classroom presentations with all 7th and 8th grade students in the participating school districts in the county.
Staley Teaching & Reaching Youth - T.R.Y.
In order to reduce youth vape use in the Staley area, our Staley Teaching and Reaching Youth coalition will target the primary contributing risk factors of harm and acceptability, and will implement several strategies that target youth, parents, and school staff. We will accomplish this goal using several strategies. Educational youth vaping videos will be distributed and marketed to Staley parents and presented at school staff in-services to educate them on the harms of youth vape use, the high risk for nicotine addiction, train them how to spot youth vape use, and provide resources for youth cessation support. Our youth coalition will also develop a peer-to-peer vaping education campaign to inform their peers of the harms of youth vaping and decrease youth vaping acceptance.
Stand Against Trafficking
The purpose of this project is to implement comprehensive strategies for prevention of sex trafficking by educating at risk groups including middle and high school students, students in residential settings under state custody, and persons who interact and teach those populations regarding trafficking in Southwest Missouri. Education will focus on what defines human trafficking, the local prevalence of the issue, how to recognize indicators one has been targeted, how to identify and assist a victim of human trafficking, how this issue is influenced by and perpetuated by substance use, and how to involve appropriate agencies. The coalition has researched materials that will be appropriate, engaging, and effective in instructing students about trafficking, traffickers, and victims of traffickers. The coalition will provide speakers and other support to local schools and institutions as requested. Additionally, the coalition will promote public awareness about the SAMHSA Drug Hotline and the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline number through the distribution of large public signs, handouts, and business cards.
Step Up of St. Louis
The goal of Step Up of St. Louis is to provide leadership, education and resources to address and prevent substance abuse and promote healthy choices among St. Louis County residents, with a focus on South St. Louis County youth through active collaboration with area schools, students, parents and all community sectors. Step Up works to engage all sectors and encourage community participation and action via proven substance prevention strategies.
Tri-C (C2000 Conception)
During the 2019-2020 grant cycle, The Tri-C Community Coalition plans to enhance the Tri-C Mentoring Program. This entity pairs at-risk, school-aged youth within the Clyde, Conception, and Conception Junction communities of Nodaway County with trained, positive adult role models. The goal at hand is reducing the “high-risk environment” in our community that contributes to underage drinking, tobacco addiction, and illegal and other drug use leading to violent acts and other risky behaviors. By providing not only alternative activities but also prevention-based community forums, the at-risk youth will have an opportunity to participate in new experiences and in turn promote bonding between the mentors, the families of the at-risk youth, and the community as a whole. The proposed project of enhancing the Tri-C Mentoring Program has numerous facets. The first task is training volunteers on how to be mentors. We have partnerships with seminarians at the Conception Abbey, elderly within the community, and staff at Jefferson C-123 Schools that assist with recruiting. The Tri-C Community Coalition brings nationally-known speakers to facilitate the yearly training session. We also provide a mentoring handbook containing valuable contact information as well as suggestions for enhancing relationships with mentees. The second facet of the Tri-C Mentoring Program is coordinating locations, times, and alternative activities in which the mentors and their assigned youth can participate. The administration of Jefferson C-123 Schools allows our adult mentors (local seminarians, elderly within the Tri-C Area, and staff from Jefferson Schools) to visit students during their lunchtime once a week. In addition to the weekly visits, the Tri-C Community Coalition provides monthly activities outside of school in which the mentors and their assigned youth may bond (bowling, movies, theatrical productions, pool parties, gaming tournaments, rental of the Teen Beat, etc.) In addition, the Teen Beat/Mentoring Halloween Party, Santa’s Workshop (arts & crafts event – all ages), Tri-C Mentoring Easter Egg Hunt, Tri-C Cleanup Day, The Lollipop Parade, St. Columba Parish Carnival, and Prescription Drug Take-Backs are just a few of the community-wide prevention activities fostering improved mentor/mentee, parental, and community networking. This step combats our individual risk factors of lack of positive role models as well as poor decision-making and problem-solving skills. The final facet of the Tri-C Mentoring Program is securing adult volunteers to assist with supervising mentoring events as well as providing transportation to and from the alternative activities. The 8 members of the Tri-C Community Coalition, as well as concerned parents of the school-aged children of Jefferson C-123 Schools, donate countless hours of their time as well as mileage to and from events to assure that this valuable program continues to positively influence our at-risk youth in the community. These wonderful adults truly understand the adage, “It takes a community to raise a child” and are always willing to lend a helping hand to families struggling with substance abuse of some kind.
Youth With Vision
YWV members are increasingly concerned with peer use of marijuana, especially driving while under the influence. With the recent passage of medical marijuana in Missouri, YWV members are also concerned that the legalization of medical marijuana will have a dramatic impact on how marijuana is marketed, which in turn, can have a dramatic impact on teen use rates. As we look at our most recent data collected from the 2018 MSS, we did see a small decrease in student use of marijuana (6.2%, down from 6.8% in 2016), although still remaining fairly consistent with prior years. We also saw a dramatic decrease in the perception of harm and an increase in perception of acceptance and availability of youth marijuana use. As such, it is realistic to expect an increase in the coming year as marijuana marketing and access increases. According to the 2018 survey, almost 30% of Missouri students do not believe it is wrong to smoke marijuana, an increase of 10% from 2016 data. Furthermore, that same survey indicates that 25% of Northland students believe someone their age would be seen as ‘pretty cool’ or ‘very cool’ if they smoke marijuana, an increase of 5% from 2016. Those statistics along with the alarming belief that although most people (adults and youth) recognize and believe that driving drunk is dangerous and unacceptable, a large number of both youth and adults believe that marijuana does not negatively impact one’s ability to drive. To address these ongoing problems, YWV will implement a three-prong approach: develop a social marketing campaign, target their peers to educate them on the harmful effects of misusing marijuana, and conduct an environmental scan of medical marijuana marketing and advertising with the hope to develop counter-marketing strategies to decrease the impact of the dispensaries.
