Substance Abuse Prevention
What is substance abuse prevention all about?
Substance abuse prevention gives youth, families, and communities the tools needed to eliminate the damaging effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
"An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure"
-Ben Franklin
Who is involved?
- Parents/Teachers
- Volunteers/Caring Adults
- Community Groups
- Law Enforcement
- Faith Communities
- Youth Groups
- Businesses
- Schools
From our work we can expect...
- youth who are secure and who make good healthy choices.
- families who work and play well together.
- communities that are safe and healthy places to live.
Did You Know?
- 10% of Winneshiek County boys report having their first drink at age 11; 15% of Winneshiek County girls report having their first drink at age 13. (Statistics from Iowa Youth Survey, 2002)
- 33% of Winneshiek County 8th graders think it is easy or very easy to get beer, wine or liquor; 87% of Winneshiek County 11th graders think the same. (Statistics from Iowa Youth Survey, 2002)
- 11% of Allamakee County boys have their first drink at age8: 9% of Allamakee girls have their first drink at age 11. (Iowa Youth Survey, 2002)
- 25% of Fayette County 8th graders think it is easy or very easy to get marijuana; 46% of Fayette County 11th graders think the same. (Iowa Youth Survey, 2002)
- As many as 360,000 undergraduates will ultimately die from alcohol-related causes - more than the total number who will be awarded advanced degrees. (Statistics from Iowa Youth Survey, 2002)
- In 2000, almost one in five underage persons aged 12-20 was a binge drinker, drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least one day in the past 30. That means 788 underage youth in Winneshiek County binge drink monthly. (Statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse) 30% of Winneshiek County 11th graders think there is only a slight risk or no risk from (them) drinking 3 or more alcoholic drinks every day. (Statistics from Iowa Youth Survey, 2002)
Youth, School, and Community Programs
- Empowering students to make good decisions
- Instruction on refusing drugs
- Learning how to resist peer pressure
- General drug information
For more information on specific programs offered, click here
Parenting & Family Skills
- Improving family communication, creative problem-solving skills and behavior management tools
- Helping families work and play together in healthy ways
Community Work
- Supporting the development of community coalitions
- Education in the workplace
What are the needs of the Agency as it relates to Substance Abuse Prevention?
- Parent Volunteers
- Voices to speak out for the prevention of substance use in underage youth
- Support/promotion and participation of our programs
- Community Leadership on prevention efforts
How can I get involved?
- Join a community group that works on substance abuse issues
- Ask us about mentoring opportunities
- Take a parenting class
- Volunteer for a program offered by the prevention staff
Get involved by calling 563.387.1720 or email us at info@helpingservices.org
Other Resources:
- Winneshiek County SAFE Coalition
- Iowa Department of Public Health
- AA Alcoholics Anonymous
- Information for Adults
- Information for Teens
- Valley Community Coalition-highlights all aspects of this growing community coalition
- HAWC Partnerships for Children
- U.S. Health and Human Services and SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information
- Online workplace health promotion, intervention and prevention
- Center for Disease Control
- Iowa Substance Abuse Information Center
- Just Eliminate Lies Tobacco Control Group
- Iowa Smoke-Free Air
- CASA Family Day
- Red Ribbon Week
- Kick Butts Day