I spoke at the US Dept of Education’s Grants to Reduce Alcohol Abuse Annual Technical Assistance Conference that was held last week in Albuquerque, N.M. At this gathering of 500 Prevention specialists, educators, administrators etc., there were many helpful discussions about how various communities are finding success in their prevention efforts.

Deborah A. Price, Assistant Secretary, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Dept. of Education, noted that successful programs are comprehensive in their approach. This was confirmed and demonstrated in numerous break-out sessions where various communities shared their program details.

“Comprehensive” is the way one would describe the prevention efforts in Helena, Montana. What really impressed me about their approach is the way they engaged leaders across their community in their efforts to minimize alcohol abuse. The Youth Connections Coalition is housed in offices that are located in the school, maximizing their visibility and ability to network with school-related personnel. Additionally, they work with numerous community groups, many of whom sit on their board and contribute time and labor to Coalition efforts.

By presenting a unified front in their community, by networking smartly, and by actively engaging community leaders, the group in Helena has been able to expand their visibility and effectiveness so they are now supported by a variety of local and national funding sources. This small urban community of about 30,000 has 200 volunteers who are involved in supporting the coalition and it’s efforts….that’s an impressive number in any community!

Youth Connections has six part strategy for affecting underage use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs:
• Identify youth with use problems and get them the help they need,
• Collaborate as a community to prevent underage use,
• Provide alcohol free events for youth,
• Educate youth on the problem and solutions for youth,
• Develop policy to limit underage access to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs,
• Share what we know with the whole community.
Here is a link to their website

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