Prevent Coalition was presented with this award following a rigorous two-phase application process over the past six months
ESD 112’s Prevent Coalition is the 2021 winner of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s (CADCA) Coalition of Excellence Award. The national award recognizes the Prevent Coalition’s outstanding and measurable success in community-level youth substance use and abuse prevention.
“This award shows how a community group with a vision and a plan can make an incredible positive impact on youth and community. It demonstrates collaboration and hope are powerful, alive, and well,” Leanne Reid, Prevention & Youth Services Manager at ESD 112, shared. ‘“When I first started with Prevent, as I learned about the coalition work I remember thinking – These people and this work is special. It’s a game-changer! This award is the acknowledgment of data that demonstrates the change and the special work the coalition has done over the years.”
Prevent Coalition was presented with this award following a rigorous two-phase application process over the past six months, where they shared how they demonstrated strategic planning to achieve positive outcomes in their short-term and intermediate outcomes associated with substance misuse issues.
“We congratulate Prevent Coalition on their outstanding work and for being exemplary leaders in the field of substance abuse prevention. Prevent clearly embraced the CADCA model of prevention and their commitment has led to positive sustainable outcomes within their community. Our CADCA Got Outcomes! winners exemplify the excellent work that coalitions are doing around the country to prevent and reduce substance use and misuse in their communities,” said General Barrye L. Price, CADCA’s President and CEO.
By mobilizing youth, parents, educators, law enforcement, health care, businesses, decision-makers and more, Prevent implements a range of interventions in Southwest Washington to reduce youth substance use and build community collaboration. A focus of the work is reducing youth access to marijuana through policy change, education, skill-building, and addressing community norms. Some of the measurable successes Prevent has achieved include:
- Lower Youth Access: A 7.1 percent reduction in youth access to marijuana, from 51 percent in 2014 to 44 percent in 2018.
- More Conversations: A 2.5 percent reduction in the number of parents who do not tell their kids not to use marijuana, from 33.6 percent in 2014 to 31.1 percent in 2018.
- Stronger Parental Attitudes: A 2 percent reduction in youth who got marijuana from home with their parent’s permission, from 8 percent in 2016 to 6% in 2018.
Years of collaboration by many dedicated members of the Prevent team have resulted in a number of long-lasting prevention tools leading to positive community changes. Some of these include:
- Making the Connection: 13 interactive modules that reveal the connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), toxic stress, brain development, and youth substance use.
- Secure Your Cannabis: Point of purchase cards educating cannabis consumers on secure storage, and the developing teen brain.
- Find Your Good: Media images and social kits highlighting positive coping mechanisms and alternatives to using substances.
- Cannabis Conversations: Age-appropriate guides for adults on how to talk to children and youth about cannabis.
- Locks Save Lives: Social norms messaging and campaign promoting safe storage of opioids and prescription medication.
- Locks Save Lives Home: Messaging for home-builders and property managers encouraging the installation of locking cabinets in all new housing developments and homes.
- Rural Toolkit: A library of online tools and resources empowering rural coalitions.
In late January, Leanne Reid and Christopher Belisle, Regional Prevention Project Coordinator, will travel to Washington D.C. for the annual CADCA Forum where they will be presented with the 2021 Coalition of Excellence Award. Leanne and Christopher will deliver a presentation that outlines their efforts in the community that led to the measurable outcomes that are being recognized with the award. They will also meet with national leaders to talk about policy, and receive training and professional development on a variety of drug misuse prevention topics.
CADCA is a nonprofit organization committed to creating safe, healthy, and drug-free communities, representing more than 5,000 community coalitions nationwide (and in more than 30 countries worldwide) that involve schools, law enforcement, youth, parents, healthcare professionals, media, and others.
Learn more about CADCA’s 2021 Got Outcomes! Awards on their website, and visit Prevent Coalition’s website for more information.
About Prevent
Prevent’s mission is connecting and supporting communities to build resilience and prevent youth substance use. We envision a healthy, thriving community free of substance misuse.
Prevent was formed in 2003 to increase collaboration, raise awareness, and reduce substance misuse in Clark County, WA. Prevent has since grown to serve the Southwest Region (Clark, Klickitat, and Skamania) and rural communities statewide. As a community mobilizer, we’re promoting healthy choices, advocating for policies that support positive youth development, and facilitating opportunities for youth to get involved.
Prevent is an ESD 112 program in the Prevention & Youth Services department, funded through state and federal grants. Deb Drandoff is our Director, Leanne Reid and Joy Lyons are the Managers, and staff include: Christopher Belisle, Jesse Jimenez, Kelley Groen-Sieckmann, and Matt Cox. Special thanks to former Coordinators and leaders who also contributed to the success of the program, including Megan Streeter, Sondra Storm, and Sean Chavez. This work is made possible by our incredible community partners, and over 500 supporters from across the state.
