COALITION NEWS

Last month Prevent Coalition staff and partners completed training at the 22nd annual CADCA Mid-Year Training Institute. They were joined by numerous coalition members and youths from southwest Washington. In all over 2,000 participants attended the event representing coalitions from all regions of the country and internationally. It was an incredible opportunity to network with thousands of advocates passionate about prevention.

The four-day event was kicked off by Washington State University alum, and former NFL Quarterback, Ryan Leaf who shared his insights and life experience battling opioid addiction. The week was packed with innovative and engaging courses and opportunities to learn the latest strategies to fight substance abuse. This year's event provided an abundance of long sessions providing more opportunities to collaborate and dive deep into subjects, including a session presented by our own Prevention Youth Services Director Leanne Reid!

Prevent Coalition staff, partners, and youth participants look forward to using the training received from top experts in the field, latest science, trends, tools and strategies to create healthy, thriving, and substance-free communities in our region and around Washington.

In April this year, Washington Dept. of Health (DOH) announced the Community-Based Prevention Capacity Building Grant as a way to expand their Youth Cannabis and Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program (YCCTPP). Community-based organizations addressing prevention and wellness were invited to submit project applications. After a thorough selection process two community coalitions in Southwest Washington were selected.

Prevent Together: Battle Ground Prevention Alliance and Unite! Washougal will receive funding during 2023-2025 to address policies, systems and environmental change that impacts youth cannabis and commercial tobacco use prevention. They were among eleven awardees statewide.

Congratulations to both coalitions!

Starting this month, the major U.S. tobacco companies must begin to post eye-catching signs telling the public the truth about the deadly consequences of cigarette smoking at about 220,000 retail stores across the nation that sell cigarettes.

Under a federal court order, the signs will be installed near cigarette displays between July 1 and September 30, 2023, and must be displayed until June 30, 2025. The order applies to tobacco companies Altria and its Philip Morris USA subsidiary, R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands and are the final step in implementing the “corrective statements” the tobacco companies were first ordered to make in 2006.

You can view the corrective statements at the following links:

• Court Ordered Corrective Statement Images.
• Court Ordered Corrective Statement Videos

Keep an eye open in your community for these corrective statement signs. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids also made social media graphics to help amplify the corrective statements which can be found on their website www.tobaccofreekids.org.

A large majority of young people who use oral nicotine pouches also smoke cigarettes (73%) and nearly half vape nicotine (49%), according to a recent Truth Initiative® study published in Preventive Medicine Reports.

Oral nicotine pouches from brands like Zyn and On!, which contain nicotine powder in various concentrations and feature youth-appealing flavors, have spiked in popularity over the last several years with unit sales increasing by six-fold between 2019 and 2022.

Read the full article at truthinitiative.org/research-resources.

The You Can marijuana prevention campaign is hoping to partner with Washington youth to create a library of user-generated videos that feature places teens go to de-stress or find joy throughout the state.

What You Can needs:

• A vertical video that’s 15-30 seconds long and shows a place that brings teens joy or helps them relax.
• A short description of the teen's video, like "My favorite library," or "Granite Falls, WA”.
• The teen's first name, age, city or state, email address, and Instagram username.

What participants will get:

• A $20 Amazon gift card per each submission that meets the required guidelines.
• One entry in a random drawing for five prizes of one $100 Amazon gift card.

Who can participate?

• This video project is open to everyone in Washington state, ages 13- to 17-years-old.

What is the deadline for submissions?

• All submissions must be sent by Tuesday, August 29, 2023.

Visit You Can's Calming Videos webpage for more details and to access the video submission link.

This free, award-winning, evidence-based program was recently enhanced and relaunched! it is geared toward middle and high school students to equip them with skills to create change in their communities and fight for the first tobacco-free generation.

Youth can participate by following these steps:

• Register and create a profile
• Complete entry-level courses
• Take an advanced advocacy course

The courses have been revamped and now feature new advocacy examples as well as updated and expanded information about Big Tobacco's impact on communities around the world. Visit the program website, TakeDownTobacco.org/training to learn more and get started.

Looking for help in the certification process? The Prevention Specialist Certification Board of Washington (PSCBW) is now offering monthly office hours to take questions from potential candidates about the Certified Prevention Professional (CPP) application and renewal process.

PSCBW will have open office hours every month, on the 4th Monday of the month at 4 pm. Registration is required prior to attending each monthly office hour meeting. Click here or on the PSCBW logo image to open the registration page.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recently launched Alcohol and Your Brain, an interactive activity for youth ages 13 and older to learn about alcohol's effects on five areas of the brain. This educational resource shares age-appropriate messages through engaging visuals, informative billboards, and narration and is available in video and virtual reality (VR) formats.

A video version and an immersive VR version are available (compatible with Quest, Quest 2, or Meta Quest Pro VR headsets). For more information, visit the Alcohol and Your Brain webpage (niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-and-your-brain-virtual-reality-experience).

Planning curriculum for the fall? The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has a collection of free lessons and activities on the science and consequences of drug use. All lessons are based on national science and education standards and were developed by scientists from leading universities and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Each lesson has downloadable teacher and student materials.

Click here to check out the lessons!

Also available are NIDA Scientist Virtual Q&A Videos. Educators can use these videos as stand alone lessons or integrate them into existing curriculum. These short videos provide answers to teens’ top questions about drug use and addiction. Also great for educating adults!

Click here to check out the scientist virtual Q&A videos!

Schools and districts nationwide are challenged with creating vape-free and tobacco-free campuses that support students’ health and academic success. Evidence shows that exclusionary discipline, such as suspension or expulsion, does not reduce use of tobacco products and disproportionately impacts students of color.

Healthier Generation, in collaboration with the CVS Health Foundation and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, is providing access to resources to strengthen district policies, support tobacco-free and vaping-free environments, and prioritize the use of restorative practices to curb tobacco use.

Click on the image to view the resource guide along with the district policy development resources below:

• Tobacco-Free District Policy Builder
• Building Effective Tobacco and Vaping Policies
• Resources for Tobacco-Free and Vaping-Free Schools

This 24x36 poster for coaches and teachers provides tips on preventing vaping among young athletes. It is intended for display in school offices, teachers’ lounges, athletic centers, and similar locations to provide strategies and conversation-starters about keeping teens away from the dangers of nicotine and e-cigarettes.

Download the poster at the Tobacco Education Resource Library website (digitalmedia.hhs.gov/tobacco).

International Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, stimulate action and discussion about evidence-based overdose prevention and drug policy, and remember without stigma those who have died and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind.

A huge collection of campaign materials are available including posters, flyers, social media graphics, marketing messages, and campaign ideas for prevention clubs or coalitions.

Click here to visit the International Overdose Awareness Day website.

The Truth Initiative held a Congressional Briefing in June 2023 and presented their “Black Lives/Black Lungs” short films. The films center on the effects of tobacco products, specifically menthol cigarettes, on African American communities over the past several decades. The creator of these films, Lincoln Mondy, spoke before the showing of each film to preface the piece. They serve as important introductions to the methods by which the tobacco epidemic has been curated to African American communities.

View the films and read more at truthinitiative.org/press.

This website by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism offers valuable, research-based information such as:

• How much is too much?
• Resources to support change
• Tools and calculators
• Interactive worksheets
• Help links and Q&A's

The website information is also available in a guide. Click the image to download the guide or visit the website at rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov.

This professional competency guide was developed to provide a broad understanding of the range of skills necessary for orchestrating comprehensive campus prevention efforts. It organizes competencies within eight core areas and provides specific resources helpful for each of these areas. Professionals can use the information to provide more effective and efficient prevention.

This resource is “brought to life” with an eight-part webinar series, highlighting each of the individual competencies. Produced by the Drug Enforcement Administration, these webinars began the week of July 10, 2023, and will continue until the start of the academic year. Topics such as strategies, needs assessment, evaluation, and other areas of the Strategic Prevention Framework are discussed. The training videos are available on-demand, and new videos will be uploaded periodically. They can be viewed on the website campusdrugprevention.gov.

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board created a new guide, now available on the LCB website, describing regulations on sales of products containing THC by businesses that do not hold an LCB-issued cannabis license.

What about synthetic cannabinoids? K2 and Spice? THC-infused beverages? Check out the guide for answers! You can find information and educational materials on the Enforcement and Education Division's Education page for licensees. Visit lcb.wa.gov.

The Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity provides behavioral health practitioners with vital information on supporting LGBTQ+ populations. They created a new infographic on the six principles of trauma-informed care adapted for use with clients with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions. Click on the image to view the infographic.

*Storing medicine in a locked location is the single most effective deterrent to accidental poisonings, overdose, medicine theft, and misuse that can lead to prescription drug addiction. Stay informed and talk with loved ones about the risks for ingesting or taking medicine not prescribed for them and benefits of safeguarding your medications. Learn more at www.LocksSaveLives.org.

Whether you have recently joined the Rural Network or are still thinking about it there is a resource available that will answer your commonly asked questions - our New Member Orientation Guide!

This guide describes our mission, vision, funding, 7 core principles, who we serve, and how to get involved. It also describes what our meetings are like and why you should join!

Learn all the details at smore.com/8eqhp

Below is an update from Rural Network Coordinator and Prevent & Youth Services Manager Christopher Belisle on what is happening and what is needed in the Rural Network:

• Volunteers Needed: We need 6 more volunteers to sort risk/protective factors for our updated Needs Assessment process, called “Group Concept Mapping.” I sent a separate email outlining what’s involved. If you’re interested, please let me know.
• Annual Outcomes: I’m working on an annual outcomes report and website for the 2022-2023 Rural Network and I hope to publish in August. Here is a preview:
• We held 81 committee meetings/events this year, compared to 77 last year
• We received 1,719 volunteer hours this year, compared to 1082 last year. That’s worth $51,484.05 according to Indepedentsector.org. I wanted to beat our number from last year but did not expect to blow it out of the water. Incredible job to you all!
• 46 new volunteers joined our email list this year – we are better because you’re here and I’m grateful to everyone sharing our opportunities.
• This year we promoted Find Your Good and Secure Your Cannabis campaigns on social media statewide and in rural newspapers. We had 1,380,341 in paid media reach and received 60,371 in earned (unpaid and not purchased) media reach.
• Annual Evaluation: I will be sending a link to an annual evaluation survey in August but at the moment I’m prioritizing the Group Concept Mapping survey. This evaluation closely mirrors the Coalition Member Assessment Tool that CPWI (Community Prevention & Wellness Initiative) coalitions use and helps us understand how we measure up so far in the eyes of our volunteers. Stay tuned.
• Find Your Good: Please help me thank Logan Morrow for running the toolkit workgroup committee that updated the Find Your Good campaign this year with rural images and surveys from rural youth. We expect to publish the toolkit in August and are so excited to share these new messages! Now that this project is finished, Logan will likely be leading the PCN or Rural Conference workgroup (to be decided).
• Positive Community Norms: I’m working to complete a contract with The Montana Institute to continue running the PCN committee this year, working towards a rural norms campaign. Although we’re eager to get to work, ESD 112 can’t easily create new contracts/promise funds until we ourselves have received our funding from the Department of Health (the grantor of Rural Network). We will likely have the contract signed and ready to go in September if not earlier. I appreciate your patience and understanding.
• Rural Conference: The Rural Conference will happen in 2024 (NOT this September). I shared before how our team wants this to be fully coalition-driven and to do that we need a planning year in between each event. That means we’re bringing back the Conference Committee again. To take our event to the next level, we’re bringing in some professionals: Rede Group and Robb Hutson who are event planners and trainers. They are the brilliant minds behind the CannAct (Cannabis Action Summit – formerly known as Marijuana and Public Health Summit) as well as trainings held by Washington Department of Health. For reasons stated above, we are also waiting to sign this contract and hoping to start in September.

Even during summer there are tons of projects simmering! I can’t wait to bring all this and more to life this next year with you all. Thank you for your contributions so far and I will see you in August at our next monthly meeting.

Each year the Rural Network conducts an annual evaluation survey to ensure we're on track, meeting your needs, and doing the best we can to create long-lasting changes for rural communities.

We appreciate you taking 5 minutes to complete this year's survey. Click here: https://survey.sogolytics.com/r/63cpR7

• Assess Needs: We will be hosting rural Listening Sessions in May and June led by WSU researcher Dr. Janessa Graves. This information will be about rural risk and protective factors, and will help us update our needs assessment from 2020.
• Evaluation: Look forward to an annual evaluation survey coming in July to reflect on our progress as a network and ensure we're doing what works.
• Assess Data: Clark County Public Health created an online dashboard of rural Healthy Youth Survey results that you can access on our website, allowing users to easily view detailed results from the report in a visual and accessible way.
  
• Build Toolkit: Thank you to all who attended our monthly Toolkit Workgroup Meetings and gathered youth survey responses to update the Find Your Good campaign. We are currently uploading the images to the campaign website and creating a special Rural tab for them. Look forward to these being published in July.
  
• Build Toolkit: We contracted with the Montana Institute to create the beginning pillars of a Rural Positive Community Norms Campaign. We will continue contracting with them next fiscal year as well, but need time to get the contract and budget together. We will resume monthly meetings in August or September.
• Offer Training: We sent rural communities to the Montana Summer Institute to learn about Positive Community Norms. Thank you for attending on our behalf!
  
• Offer Training: The Rural Network Steering Committee is attending the National Prevention Network Conference in August in Alabama as a breakout room presenter promote our cause and teach other communities how to create a network like ours.
  
• Promote Equity: We published Spanish translations of the entire Making the Connection Toolkit. Learn more at: https://bit.ly/connectiontoolkit.
• Promote Equity: Logan is starting a book club event to review "I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times," by Washington author Mónica Guzmán. Connect with Logan to get involved!

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

The Rural Toolkit can be found at www.preventcoalition.org/rural/toolkit. Access to the Rural Toolkit is password protected. The password is: ruralrocks!

SW Regional Network Meeting

TBA

Online conference call by invitation.

For southwest regional network members.

Coalition Coordinators Meeting

TBA

Online conference call by invitation.

For southwest region coalition coordinators.

Rural Network Meeting

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

2-3:30 p.m.

Online conference call

Rural Network Office Hours

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

1-2 p.m.

Online conference call

For Rural Network members to receive technical assistance

Rural Steering Committee

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

3-4:30 p.m.

Online conference call

Develop the plan, guide the implementation, evaluate the results.

Rural Network Meeting

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

2-3:30 p.m.

Online conference call

All times are Pacific Standard Time (PST)

Click for full calendar of coalition and community events.

Relevant events not sponsored by Prevent Coalition:

National Prevention Network (NPN)

National Conference

(In-person, Birmingham, AL)

August 15-17, 2023

Cost: $799 before July 15. Click here to visit event web page

The purpose of the NPN Conference is to highlight the latest research in the substance use prevention field. It provides a forum for prevention professionals, coalition leaders, researchers, and federal partners to share research, best practices and promising evaluation results for the purpose of integrating research into prevention practice.

Washington State Prevention Summit

(In-person, The Davenport Grand, Spokane, WA)

October 24-25, 2023

Times and fees TBA

Visit preventionsummit.org or more information.

The Prevention Summit is an enriching training and networking opportunity for professionals, youth and volunteers engaged in health promotion and the prevention of substance misuse, violence, and other high-risk behaviors, in a setting that promotes cultural humility. The summit provides high-quality workshops, forums, and hands-on learning opportunities designed to meet a variety of needs, including professional development for prevention professionals. A separate youth track gives youth volunteers their own space to increase skills, share experiences, network, and gain knowledge to be effective prevention advocates.

PAVe

Clear the Vapor Conference

(Webinar)

October 24, 2023

Times TBD

No fee, click here to visit registration page

Clear the Vapor is PAVe’s annual high-level and highly accessible youth vaping event. It is a unique, parent-powered and volunteer-led FREE event intended to provide both an overview and a deep dive into all aspects of this ongoing adolescent public health crisis, with an emphasis on practical solutions.

NW PTTC

Ethics in Prevention Foundations

(Virtually moderated 6-hour course)

Repeats monthly, visit website for next session!

No Fee, Limited Space Available

This two-week, asynchronous moderated course, adapted from the original SAMHSA Center for Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT) course, explores the six principles of the Prevention Code of Ethics. The course also introduces a decision-making process to help practitioners apply this code to a variety of ethical dilemmas, and an online discussion area to facilitate discussion with other course participants. Course meets requirements for prevention specialist credentialing.

View ongoing training and events at https://pttcnetwork.org.

NW PTTC

Special Topics in Prevention of Substance Misuse

(Self-paced courses)

A large selection of online, on-demand courses that explore special topics in prevention of substance misuse that will better-equip prevention professionals & coalitions to serve their communities.

Access the courses via the HealtheKnowledge.org website.

NW PTTC

Pharmacology for Prevention Professionals

(Self-paced course)

Explore the basics of how substances impact major brain regions and the acute and chronic symptoms associated with different substances. Certificates of 1.5 hours for each of the following four courses: Basics of Pharmacology and Alcohol, Basics of Pharmacology and Opioids, Basics of Pharmacology and Psychostimulants (Cocaine & Methamphetamine), and Basics of Pharmacology and Cannabis.

Learn more and enroll via the HealtheKnowledge.org website.

Supported by the fiscal agent ESD 112, Prevent is a regional coalition formed in 2003 to increase collaboration, awareness, and reduce youth substance use in Southwest Washington. Prevent also implements initiatives for rural communities across Washington state. As a community mobilizer, the coalition creates a culture promoting healthy choices; advocates for policies and regulations that protect, empowers and nurtures youth; and facilitates positive opportunities for youth to be involved and thrive.

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: @supportyouthnow