Welcome to the Resouce Fair!

The Substance Abuse Coalition of Douglas County (CO) welcomes you to our virtual resource fair - - we hope you find it helpful in locating just the right service at just the right time for your family or for the families that you serve.

We know that you're a smart consumer and that you'll check these resources out for yourself to make sure you find the best fit; the Substance Abuse Coalition does not endorse any particular service provider or approach.



Saturday, July 28, 2012

Getting Strategic: The Coalition Six Years Later

On August 16th, the Substance Abuse Coalition of Douglas County will take a look at its past, present and future during a facilitated strategic planning session.  Interested community members and stakeholders are invited to take part in this efficient two-hour process.

Six years ago, the Substance Abuse Coalition was formed by common agreement at a community meeting hosted by the Douglas County Youth Initiative, then under the leadership of Carla Turner.  The group meets monthly and has produced events and resources such as:

> Take Back 420! - - a day of service for Douglas County kids to counter the 4/20 mythology

> Virtual Resource Fair - - an online range of substance use resources

> The Substance Abuse Service Map - - categories and contact info for local service providers

> Various town hall discussions on alcohol and drug use

It's time to revisit the mission, purpose and methodology of the Coalition and that's why the strategic planning session was called - - the group will be looking at what the Coalition has done, what the data indicates are the most pressing current needs, and what action needs to be taken in the future to make sure Douglas County is as healthy and well-functioning as possible.

Here are the details on the strategic planning session:

WHEN:  August 16th, 10 a.m. to noon

WHERE:  Highlands Ranch Sheriff's Dept. outpost, 9250 Zotos Drive (near HR Library)

FACILITATOR:  Gabrielle Frey, Executive Director of Resolution Works

The Substance Abuse Coalition of Douglas County hopes that you'll be there for this productive, fun and stimulating two hours during which we'll determine how the community will get ahead of substance use among all the people who live here - - be part of the solution!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Take Back 420!

Hey, Douglas County Kids & Parents & Educators & People Who Care About Kids!

Check out Take Back 420! - - a large-scale day of service during which our kids will reclaim April 20th as a day of giving and caring!

For too long, April 20th has been known for its sad associations with the Columbine shootings and with 420 events marinated in marijuana.  It's a day off from school for our Douglas County kids, so they're gonna TAKE BACK APRIL 20th and let it be known for a massive wave of youth service at local nonprofits!

Take Back 420! is a project of the Substance Abuse Coalition of Douglas County - - we're still signing up organizations as service sites for youth volunteers on April 20th, 2012.  Kids who serve 4 hours or more on that day can qualify for a random drawing for three great prizes, and their schools will be competing for.....wait for it......THE GOLDEN SHOVEL!!!!!!  Oh, yeah.

So, encourage your kids and students and friends and neighbors to visit the site and sign up today to make history in Douglas County when we TAKE BACK 420!





Wednesday, February 8, 2012

SOCIAL NORMS MARKETING: Getting Some Perspective

You know what? Intervening with someone AFTER they've started using alcohol or drugs is really, really difficult. 

It's especially tough to intervene with adolescents, who haven't yet hit a financial or familial bottom and who haven't become physically addicted and whose brains are constructed in a way that encourages high thrill / low effort activities. So what we have to do is prevent use of drugs and alcohol. 

The hard part is finding a prevention strategy that actually does what we want and truly prevents children from using drugs and alcohol. There are a number of feel-good programs out there that have no proven effect yet continue to chomp up time and resources. But there is a prevention approach that works, and the Douglas County School District (supported by the Douglas County Youth Initiative and the Substance Abuse Coalition of Doug Co) has effectively implemented that approach in most middle and high schools in the district. 

The prevention strategy is social norms marketing, and it operates off of well-established research and down-to-earth common sense about adolescent social and neurological development. National studies indicate that teen behavior can be greatly influenced by the mere perception of what other teens are doing - - when an adolescent believes that most of his or her peers are drinking, then he or she is more likely to drink. 

Interestingly, most teens tend to overestimate the amount of drug and alcohol use that goes on among other teens; reasons for this overestimation phenomenon include our very human tendency to focus on the unusual and to exaggerate its frequency, combined with misinformation from well-meaning programs or professionals who would like to scare the community into action. 

So, perception drives behavior. The social norms approach involves correcting teens' misperceptions that everyone is using drugs and alcohol; what is advertised instead is accurate data about the healthy MAJORITY of youth who are choosing not to drink or drug. 

When teens realize that most adolescents at their high schools are making good choices, then they themselves are more likely to make those same choices. Social norms projects across the planet have consistently seen decreases in rates of substance use among their youth as overestimations of use were debunked. 

The lynchpin of social norms marketing is accurate, relevant data. Douglas County School District's participating schools start with a survey that evaluates actual use rates along with perceptions of use at each school, giving the project not just believable statistics for marketing purposes but also a benchmark for monitoring success of the approach over the three-to-five year implementation period.  The Social Norms Marketing Consultant works with participating schools to develop messages tailored to each environment, especially where other evidence-based programs, such as Positive Behavior Supports, are already in place.  You've probably seen them at the schools - - vibrant, engaging posters and other materials that change frequently so that the message never goes stale. 

Social norms marketing is a proven prevention strategy that relies on the community for support and sustenance. Your children report that their teachers and their parents are the most believable channels of information about drug and alcohol use - - this is a tremendous power and it comes with the tremendous responsibility (my apologies to Spiderman) to provide only accurate information to our youth. 

And here's what you can tell them - - the vast majority of kids in DCSD middle schools are choosing to be alcohol- and drug-free.  As their misperceptions about other kids' behavior has been corrected, data shows that our middle schoolers are even less likely to experiment!  And high schoolers?  We're seeing the same correction of misperceptions and that has led to FEWER teens initiating use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs.  When fewer kids are engaging in substance use, schools function better and our community sees less juvenile misbehavior and crime.  We all gain when prevention works.

So, let's hear a collective WOOO HOOOOO for the school district, the Youth Initiative and the Substance Abuse Coalition for doing what works and sticking with it!  Johnny Mercer was right - - accentuating the positive is the way to go!