Prevent Coalition Renews Funding
Educational Service District 112 (ESD 112) and Prevent Coalition have been selected to be the Youth Cannabis and Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program (YCCTPP) contractor for the Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health (SWACH) region. The competitive grant from Washington Department of Health provides funding to plan, coordinate, and implement youth cannabis and commercial tobacco prevention activities over the next five years.
"We want to thank all our partners for their ongoing support," said Christopher Belisle, Regional Prevention Project Coordinator with Prevent. "We have an incredibly connected community in the southwest region and are excited to continue what we've built together. We look forward to engaging stakeholders over the next few months for strategic planning and needs assessment."
Prevent plans to continue implementing their existing programs in addition to creating new partnerships, developing new toolkits and campaigns, and deepening connections to the communities within the region. The grant allows Prevent to continue building collaboration and connection – uniting prevention efforts and bridging gaps.
If you’d like to be part of the SW Regional Network who participates in this tobacco/cannabis work, please contact preventcoalition@esd112.org.
Strengthening Families Program Facilitator Training
The Strengthening Families Program (SFP) is an evidence-based family skills training program for high-risk and general population families that is recognized both nationally and internationally. Parents and youth attend weekly SFP skills classes together, learning parenting skills and youth life and refusal skills.
This training is for those interested in becoming a certified SFP facilitator for 10-14 year olds. The training will be held in-person on March 14-16, 2022 from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. For more information including location, cost, and the registration link please visit the event website.
Deadline to register: March 10, 2022. Space is limited.
Take Down Tobacco - National Day of Action April 1st
Sponsored by Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, this event provides free resources and activities to engage youth prevention groups and organizations in tobacco and vaping prevention at their school and in their community. Registration is optional. Additional resources are expected throughout March including a "Joker Takedown" online card game that can be used for education. Visit the event website for more information.
A webinar will be offered to preview the resources and discuss creative event ideas on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, @1:30 pm PST. Click here to register for the webinar.
Alcohol Awareness Toolkit: #ProofIsInTheNumbers
April is National Alcohol Awareness Month. To raise awareness about alcohol-related harms and the importance of alcohol policy safeguards, the NW PTTC launched the Alcohol Awareness Toolkit: #ProofIsInTheNumbers.
The Alcohol Awareness Toolkit seeks to raise awareness about alcohol-related harms, the importance of strong alcohol policies, and encourage engagement from prevention and public health stakeholders to strategically educate and inform decision makers about effective alcohol policies.
The Northwest PTTC is excited to bring these resources to communities and encourage prevention partners to use the materials to raise awareness. Engagement materials, technical assistance, and more is available on the toolkit website.
Join NIDA's National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week
Your efforts to empower teens and young adults to make informed decisions about drugs and alcohol and to support their mental health are more important than ever. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) invites you to join in during National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week® (NDAFW), March 21–27, 2022. NDAFW is a week-long national health observance highlighting the science-based facts about drugs, alcohol, and addiction. Learn how to register your event, and how to get free materials for teens including the National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge quiz.
Tobacco Point of Sale Preemption Playbook
The Tobacco Point of Sale Preemption Playbook, a new resource from Counter Tools and ChangeLab Solutions, equips tobacco prevention staff and their partners with the knowledge, context, and resources needed to understand how preemption influences their work. In this resource, learn more about the different forms preemption can take, key steps and legal considerations for determining local authority, and strategies communities across the country are using to make progress despite preemption of local point-of-sale tobacco policies.
Watch Live Coverage - TVW (https://tvw.org)
See unedited coverage of committee hearings, testimony, floor debate, press conferences, and much more. Search the archive for recorded events or tune in live!
Bill Information (https://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/)
Search by bill number, or list bills by many other methods from links. The bottom of each bill page has links to TVW video of hearings and floor action. See the Bill Report for a useful high-level summary of the bill policy, background, and hearing testimony.
Current Laws (RCWs) and Rules (WACs) (https://leg.wa.gov/LawsAndAgencyRules/Pages/default.aspx)
Find RCWs or WAC by number or by title.
Budget Information on LEAP budget website (http://leap.leg.wa.gov/index.html)
Provides detail on budget proposals and links to Citizen’s Guides to WA State budgets.
Legislative Information Center (https://leg.wa.gov/lic/Pages/default.aspx)
Useful resource on the legislative website. Click on the Classes & Tutorials link to find great handouts and videos and live class info.
Committee Information (https://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/CommitteeListing.aspx)
Sign Up for Email Updates on Committee Hearing Schedules (https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WALEG/subscriber/new)
Testifying in Committee or Submitting Comments (https://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Testify.aspx)
Rural Grant Progress
- Conference: We've selected the date, location, and identified topics to address for the conference. At our next meeting we'll decide the structure of the event, how many days it is, and look at agenda.
- Policy: The Rural Network has mobilized several volunteers for outreach on policy, including partnering with the American Heart Association, Prevention Voices, and more. Thank you to all who have shared their stories with decision makers on our behalf. Next, we look forward to publicly recognizing specific legislators for their prevention efforts.
- Toolkit: Thank you to those who provided feedback during the workgroup meeting and the Network meeting for Department of Health and the You Can campaign. We look forward to further co-creating materials from a rural lens.
- Training: We hosted a Healthy Youth Survey data training in February to prepared for March release of survey results. Stay tuned for our next training opportunity.
- Recruitment: Look towards our events section below to attend the next New Member Orientation event in March. This is optional but helps to build connections, prepare members and create a space to ask questions. This time, the orientation will be in the format of a mock-meeting.
- Photo Toolkit: Published! You may still submit more photos.
- Story Toolkit: Published! You may still submit more stories.
Connection is the Best Prevention
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.