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E.T.O.H. (Educating Their Own Homes)
Hosted by:
Change Lanes Youth Support Services
Please briefly describe your Communities Talk activity.
Change Lanes held an activity to educate youth ages 12–18 about the harmful effects of alcohol; statistics regarding alcohol; what alcohol is made of; and how alcohol affects the mind, body, soul, and spirit. The activity included a prevention education presentation, distribution of underage drinking prevention materials, and a youth-engaged play entitled “Why Momma Why.” This play was written and performed by the youth. We also had various community vendors and a lot of free resources. A few of our community vendors provided information on the resources they offer in the community, such as transitional age youth housing and other supportive services. The Communities Talk planning stipend was used to help plan for the event, whereas other financial support was used to provide lunch to the participants and gift cards that served as an incentive to participants who completed a community survey.
How does alcohol and other drug misuse affect your community?
Alcohol and other drug use have a large impact on youth in my community. We created this Communities Talk prevention activity after learning of a 21-year-old young man who was being charged with manslaughter as a result of substance use and misuse. . The 21-year-old was driving under the influence and crashed into another vehicle, killing the driver instantly. The 21-year-old testified in court and shared that he began drinking at about 12 years of age.
After learning about this story, we assumed that many youth are drinking at a young age, and a prevention activity would help educate youth about the risks associated with substance misuse.
Which prevention strategy(ies), as defined by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, best fit your Communities Talk activity?
- Environmental Strategy - focuses on establishing or changing community standards, codes, and attitudes thereby influencing incidence and prevalence of alcohol and other drug use within the community. The strategy depends on engaging a broad base of community partners, focuses on places and specific problems, and emphasizes public policy.
- Community-Based Process Strategy - focuses on enhancing the capacity of the community to address AOD issues through organizing, planning, collaboration, coalition building, and networking.
- Information Dissemination Strategy - focuses on improving awareness and knowledge of the effects of AOD issues on communities and families through “one-way” communication with the audience such as speaking engagements, health fairs, and distribution of print materials.
- Education Strategy – focuses on “two-way” communication between the facilitator and participants and aims to improve life/social skills such as decision making, refusal skills, and critical analysis.
- Alternative Strategy – focuses on redirecting individuals from potentially problematic situations and AOD use by providing constructive and healthy events/activities.
What goal(s) did you hope to accomplish with your Communities Talk activity?
- Hold meetings or discussion groups on alcohol and/or other drug misuse prevention.
- Develop strategic plans to reduce and prevent alcohol and/or other drug misuse.
- Build coalitions with other agencies or programs to reduce and prevent alcohol and/or other drug misuse.
- Reduce or limit alcohol and/or other drugs outlet density.
Did you accomplish your goal(s)?
Yes
What challenge(s) did you face in planning your activity this year?
- Needed additional resources to conduct activity
How did you overcome these challenges?
Change Lanes partnered with other community organizations, businesses, city, county and local governments for additional resources such as gift cards, food, resources.
What are your next steps?
- Host follow-up meetings or activities
- Create a public education campaign to raise awareness and/or change behaviors around underage drinking (i.e., create PSAs and other promotional materials)
If you’ve conducted Communities Talk activities in prior years, how has your repeated participation contributed to progress in achieving your prevention goals?
This is our first SAMHSA Communities Talk event.
Organizations that conduct Communities Talk activities often involve other organizations in the planning and execution of events. Please indicate which type(s) of organizations you involved in your activity planning.
- Law enforcement
- Secondary schools
- Elementary schools
- Charitable organizations
- Local businesses
Which of the following best describes the primary audience(s) for your Communities Talk activity?
- Youth
- Parents
- Black or African American community members
- Hispanic community members
How did you reach and engage your primary audience(s) to encourage them to participate in your activity?
Change Lanes reached its target audience by engaging youth who are presently or were previously in the program. Youth were encouraged to invite their peers, and the youth with the most peers in attendance received an incentive. Parents were encouraged to attend with their children ages 12 years and older. Postings were done on social media, including Instagram and Facebook. Flyers were distributed during community resource fairs, and details about the event also were shared by word of mouth. Participants were able to eat a free lunch of drinks and tacos.
Which Communities Talk resources (or other SAMHSA resources) were most helpful for your activity?
- Prevention-related webinars
- Prevention videos, such as College Drinking: Prevention Perspectives
- SAMHSA’s Event Planner
- Customizable Resources for Communities Talk Promotion and Implementation
- StopAlcoholAbuse.gov website
- Communities Talk website
- Communities Talk toolkits
- Communities Talk Find an Activity Map
- Communities Talk support staff
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