November Coalition News

Prevent Coalition Events, Resources, Opportunities and more.

Battle Ground Students Create Emoji Trading Card Campaign

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Middle school students in Battle Ground launched a campaign to let their peers know they are not alone during the pandemic.

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Click here to view the source website from Prevent Together: Battle Ground Prevention Alliance.

A group of middle school students in Battle Ground have launched a campaign to help their peers know they aren’t alone during the pandemic, especially when it comes to the stress of online learning.

The students are part of a leadership group at Chief Umtuch Middle School, called the DREAM Team, which aims to prevent substance abuse in their community.

Their campaign uses emoji trading cards that feature different emotions like ‘sad’ or ‘anxious,’ and helps students identify and manage those emotions.

“They are a good way to communicate the idea of, a sense of knowing your emotion, knowing what you're feeling. Because for a lot of people, it's hard to gauge exactly what you're feeling,” said Hyouju Smith, an 8th grade student at Chief Umtuch Middle School.

The cards will be placed in sack lunches that are distributed around the district weekly. The campaign will go through winter break, and each week the cards will feature a new emotion.

Eighth grader Bridget Hopper hopes the emoji cards help connect students who feel isolated.

“I hope the impact it makes on people is, they know they're not alone and that everybody is going through this really hard situation right now and you have to stay strong,” Hopper said.

Click here to read the full article.

Coalition Website: http://www.preventtogetherbg.org/.

Emoji Web Page: http://www.preventtogetherbg.org/2020/10/07/emoji-trading-cards/.

Clark County Drug Takeback Events Collect Over 4600 Pounds of Medication

On Saturday, October 24, 2020, four drug take-back locations were opened to accept unwanted medications. Over 4,600 lbs. of unwanted medications were collected at the Clark County sites. These events are vital to keeping substances out of the wrong hands and out of our landfills and waterways. All medication collected at take-back events is weighed, secured in boxes and transported to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for safe incineration.

Combined Totals – four Clark County event sites:

• 1,432= total combined participants

• 4,628 = total combined lbs. of meds collected

• 710 = Total combined lbs. of Sharps/syringes collected

History of Drug Take Back Events

Our Drug Take Back Events started in 2010 with one Clark County event site. With support from a Washington State Health Care Authority regional opioid prevention grant, starting in 2018 multiple event sites are held twice annually in April and October and include partnerships with Law Enforcement and multiple substance misuse prevention coalitions and community partners throughout the Southwest Washington Region of Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties.

As of October 24, 2020, these shared efforts have collected 41,875 pounds of medication from 16,820 total participants, all working together to keep these substances out of the wrong hands and out of our landfills and waterways. All medication collected at take-back events is weighed, secured in boxes and transported to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for safe incineration.

Graph showing Total participants from take back events since 2010: 16,820. Total drugs collected: 41,875 pounds.

Year-round Medication Disposal

Missed the October 24th Drug Take Back Event? No worries…unwanted medications can be safely disposed of year-round at several collection sites across SW Washington at retail pharmacies, hospital and clinic pharmacies and Law Enforcement offices. Sharps and syringes can also be taken to local participating transfer and recovery centers for safe and proper disposal. For a list of year-round medication collection sites in SW Washington open during COVID-19, visit https://www.preventcoalition.org/resources/meds/ or for a list of medication disposal collections sites anywhere in Washington State, visit www.takebackyourmeds.org. Call ahead to verify availability and types of medication accepted for disposal.

Safe Disposal of Meds Protect Our Youth

Opioid abuse is hurting communities all across Washington State. The crisis affects Washingtonians of all ages, but it is taking a particularly heavy toll on our youth. We all play a role in preventing opioid misuse and overdose among Washington’s young people. Simple steps like promptly removing opioid prescription medications from your home and safely disposing of unwanted, unused or expired pills at a year-round collection sites can help protect teens and other loved ones. When it comes to protecting loved ones and the environment from the risks of opioids, you can make a difference.

Visit www.GetTheFactsRx.com for more info on how you can make a difference in preventing opioid misuse and abuse.
Click here for steps to safely dispose of opioid and other prescription medications.
Click here for a list of year-round medication collection sites in SW Washington open during COVID-19.

Liquor & Cannabis Board Listen & Learn

LCB Listen & Learn

Tuesday November 17

1-4:30 p.m. (may be shorter depending on volume of comments)

Click here to register.

The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) has created conceptual draft rules designed for discussion of eventual rule creation and implementation for alcohol retailers in Washington. There will be a Listen and Learn session where community members and stakeholders get to discuss the conceptual draft rules and share their opinions for the public record.

Original Rules: Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill (E2SSB) 5549 (chapter 238, Laws of 2020)
Conceptual Draft Rules: Provided here.
Preproposal statement of inquiry filed as WSR 20-16-150 on August 05, 2020.
Memo with background information: click here.
Listen & Learn Event Agenda.
Guidance Document for what to except, how to participate and how to prepare.

LCB states reasons why rules on this subject may be needed and what they might accomplish:

E2SSB 5549 modifies the privileges and requirements for distillery and craft distillery licenses, and establishes a new off-site tasting room license available to distillery and craft distillery licensees that authorizes operation of an off-site tasting room. A distillery or craft distillery licensed production facility is eligible for up to two off-site tasting room licenses located in the state. The total number of off-site tasting room licenses that may be issued is limited to one hundred fifty.

A licensed distillery or craft distillery operating any on-site or off-site tasting room must provide food offerings, for free or for sale, to customers during public service hours. Requirements for food offerings must be established by the board in rule.

E2SSB 5549 also authorizes jointly occupied and co-operated off-site tasting rooms and jointly operated conjoined consumption areas. Jointly occupied and co-operated off-site tasting rooms are authorized for any distillery, craft distillery, domestic winery, or any combination of these licensees. Jointly operated conjoined consumption areas are authorized for any domestic brewery, microbrewery, domestic winery, distillery, or craft distillery, or any combination of these licensees, whose property parcels or buildings are located in direct physical proximity to one another.

New rule sections may need to be created to implement E2SSB 5549, and existing rule sections may need to be amended in order to align existing rule language with the changes made to statute by E2SSB 5549.

Click here to register.
Have questions? Would you like to provide written feedback before the Listen and Learn session? Email: audrey.vasek@lcb.wa.gov.
Review a full list of proposed rules: https://lcb.wa.gov/rules/proposed-rules.

November is COPD Awareness Month

Long-term exposure to lung irritants, like smoking and vaping, can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which robs the lungs of air.

The SmokefreeUS community exists to support you as you quit smoking. To get started on your journey to Smokefree, check out the website at http://smokefree.gov.

It's Survey Season!

Coalitions use surveys to gather feedback from community members and understand their opinions/beliefs around substance use. This info helps providers understand what's happening in their area so as to create effective strategies to address community concerns.

Please help by taking less than 15 minutes to complete the online survey, available in both English and Spanish.

Our Klickitat

Our Klickitat - English

Our Klickitat - Spanish

West Van for Youth

Zip codes: 98660, 98661, 98663, 98665

West Van for Youth - English

West Van for Youth - Spanish

Central Vancouver Coalition

Zip codes: 98661, 98662, 98664

Central Vancouver - English

Central Vancouver - Spanish

Prevention Job Openings in SW Washington

There are a number of job openings for prevention staff in the Southwest Washington region. Click the links below to learn more and apply.

Klickitat: Our Klickitat Coalition Part-Time Coordinator. If you are interested in applying please contact sarah@wagap.org.
Goldendale: Student Assistance Professional/Prevention/Intervention Specialist: Goldendale SD
Wahkiakum: Student Assistance Professional/Prevention/Intervention Specialist: Wahkiakum SD
Washougal: Student Assistance Professional/Prevention/Intervention Specialist: Washougal SD

Prevention Research

Thank you Our Klickitat Coalition for sharing these resources!

Connecting Across Cultures

How can substance prevention programs address the cultural needs of immigrant families?

Ensure Cultural representation
Develop a "way of knowing"
Offer acceptable and accessible services
Click here to read more about this article on connecting across cultures

Does Culture Influence Alcoholism & Addiction Rates?

How can we address cultural competence in substance misuse?

Current research indicates that a mix of biological and environmental factors influence alcoholism and addiction. Both a person’s genetic makeup and the environment they grew up in can play a role in whether or not they abuse substances in their future.
Click here to read more about this article on cultural influence in alcoholism and addiction rates

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Next Rural Network Meeting

We meet the last Tuesday of every month from 2-3:30 p.m.

Rural Network Meeting

Tuesday November 24

2-3:30 p.m.

Online conference call

Email preventcoalition@esd112.org for invite. Link and password emailed the day prior.

Click here to access November meeting minutes.

Questions?

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

Latest Grant Updates

Full updates will be provided during meetings and in minutes. Highlights include:

Website: We are updating our rural partners page to show all our current network members and their organization logos. Additionally, we're developing a web-app that will map out all coalitions in Washington State and their contact information.
Sector Representatives: We have 80 participants who have opted-in to our programs and always welcome new members!
Assessment: Epidemiologists are implementing Assessment Part 2, Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) data analysis. By January, we should have a report of rural HYS data.
Toolkit: We held two sub-committee meetings in October to plan for this work. We've selected "chapters" for our toolkit. Next we will sort ideas into their chapters, and decide which toolkit assets to start working on first.
Sub-Contract: The Epidemiology team is analyzing the Healthy Youth Survey data from rural communities, has chosen which measures to track and developing a Needs Assessment Report Part 2.

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