Prevention Glow Dance

Our coalition held a Communities Talk prevention community teen dance for DeKalb County. The Prevention Glow Dance occurred during school hours after lunch. We partnered with the school to make the dance convenient for families and students. We designed a prevention dance flyer with information that was sent to parents and youth in the school system email list, and youth and staff made morning announcements on the high school PA system the week before and the week of the event. We shared information after the prevention dance with our local radio station, WJLE, as well as in the local newspaper and on social media. We provided prevention and educational materials to all the students during the event. A community partner spoke about his personal recovery and how he was a student at the same middle school. Students from each grade listened to the guest speaker and then had an hour for the Prevention Glow Dance. The dance took place in the gym. We had neon lights that illuminated the dance area and added neon sparkles on the way. We  partnered with our school health coordinator to provide water and healthy snacks for the students. Approximately 700 students attended the prevention dance, which was a hit among our students and school staff. Everyone enjoyed this healthy activity to show students they can have fun without alcohol and drugs.

The mission of the DeKalb County coalition is to unite community leaders and citizens of the county to form strong partnerships across major community sectors with the goal of reducing substance abuse. According to the Tennessee Together Student Survey, which measures substance use in the 30 days prior to the survey administration, past-month use among youth included:

·         1 in 61 youth misused prescription drugs in the past month

·         5% of students reported smoking part or all of a cigarette in the past month

·         7% of students reported drinking alcohol in the past month

·         6% of students reported smoking marijuana in the past month

• Alternative Strategy – focuses on redirecting individuals from potentially problematic situations and AOD use by providing constructive and healthy events/activities.

• Hold meetings or discussion groups on alcohol and/or other drug misuse prevention.
• Build coalitions with other agencies or programs to reduce and prevent alcohol and/or other drug misuse.

• Unforeseen difficulties when planning our activity

We live in a rural area and did not want parents to be unable to bring their children due to transportation issues or “not having the right outfit for the dance.” Therefore, we planned this prevention activity during school hours. 

A second challenge that we faced was on the day of the dance. A threat was called into the school that morning, and the school was placed on lockdown. But, with the help of local law enforcement being present outside of the school, we were able to go on as planned with the school dance during school hours. The response by school staff and local law enforcement was fast and flawless to make the prevention dance still run smoothly. The students were still able to enjoy the guest speaker and the prevention glow dance without being aware of the issues outside the school gym.

We held this event during school hours. We partnered with the school staff, principal, and counseling center to coordinate so that all students would be able to attend the prevention dance with no worries about transportation or other concerns. The students loved the event, and so did the staff. This would not have been possible without the wonderful school staff we have in our county.

• Prevention-related webinars
• Communities Talk website
• Communities Talk toolkits
• Communities Talk social media content (e.g., Facebook, Twitter)