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Let's Talk About Video Series

Hosted by: Drug-Free Irondequoit: Together, Inc.

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How does alcohol and other drug misuse affect your community?

The Town of Irondequoit ranks third in the Rochester, NY, area for deaths caused by overdose, which has caused increased demand in the community for prevention resources and events. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicates that while overall underage drinking across the United States has decreased somewhat, underage drinking is still very prevalent in the Irondequoit community, with more than 30 percent of youth drinking. Additionally, vaping—both nicotine and marijuana—has become equally prevalent in our community.

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What challenge(s) did you face in planning your activity this year?

  • Needed additional resources to conduct activity
  • Unforeseen difficulties when planning our activity
  • Inexperience hosting Communities Talk activities
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How did you overcome these challenges?

Our biggest challenge was a lack of funds to produce the video concepts we set in place. We had not realized how expensive it would be to produce videos, including editing, to create a professional video. Luckily, we were able to find someone to donate their time to film and edit the videos.

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What are your next steps?

  • Host follow-up meetings or activities
  • Expand our coalition with new partnerships in the community
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Which Communities Talk resources (or other SAMHSA resources) were most helpful for your activity?

  • StopAlcoholAbuse.gov website
  • Communities Talk website
  • Communities Talk planning guides
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How did a Communities Talk event help you address those issues?

  • Educated youth and parents
  • Created an opportunity to share resources and practices with other community stakeholders
  • Helped plan future prevention efforts
  • Raised awareness of substance abuse and/or underage drinking issues in our community
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How did your event make an impact on underage drinking in your community?

As we began hosting more community prevention events, we discovered that social media was our greatest tool. We developed the Let’s Talk About video series (available on the D-FI Facebook page) to raise awareness on topics surrounding alcohol misuse and substance misuse. The videos were released on D-FI and other local partners’ social media pages over a period of several weeks. Each video discussed a different topic, such as drunk driving or alcohol’s effects on the brain. The first video released featured the chief of police and received more than 5,000 views.

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