A Division for Advancing Prevention & Treatment (ADAPT) provides substance use prevention Training and Technical Assistance to High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)

communities across the nation. The Prevention Post keeps HIDTA communities

up-to-date with the latest advances and opportunities in the field.

New Mexico HIDTA's Diversified Approach to

Preventing Substance Use in Youth

Taos Alive is a community outreach prevention program funded by the New Mexico (NM) HIDTA and based out of Holy Cross Medical Center in Taos, New Mexico (NM). The journey for Taos Alive began in 2007 when they launched as an underage drinking prevention coalition. In 2010 Taos Alive was funded as a Drug Free Communities Coalition (DFC) under the DFC program at the Office of National Drug Control Policy.  After graduating from 10 years as a DFC coalition, Taos Alive became a NM HIDTA prevention initiative tasked with reducing the demand for drugs as a complement to the supply reduction work of the NM HIDTA.

Taos Alive understands that drug use stems from many factors and have implemented diversified approaches to address some of the most prevalent risk and protective factors. The Taos Alive Coalition strives to establish and strengthen collaboration among communities and reduce substance use through planning and implementing evidence-based strategies focused on reducing unhealthy behaviors and building positive behaviors. Below is a list of activities in which they are engaged:

• Host community coalition meetings.
• Implement Botvin Life Skills Training curriculum in elementary through high school years.
• Educate youth, caregivers, and/or community partners on local drug data, new and emerging substances, overdose prevention strategies, and adverse childhood experiences. 
• Promote social norms campaigns online to reduce misperceptions youth may have about substance use in their peers.
• Facilitate after school basketball camps (funded by the Drug Enforcement Agency) and other programs building positive behaviors when school is not in session.
• Provide mentorship opportunities.
• Offer resource navigation services by an Activity Navigator to increase access to the program for youth and their families.

Partnerships and demonstration of impact make these activities possible. Taos Alive maintains and pursues ongoing collaboration with schools, law enforcement, health, business and other sectors to ensure they can continue to provide these valuable services for their community and make an impact on current and future generations. Taos Alive was the first initiative to engage ADAPT for technical assistance with building an evaluation plan and presenting their data in meaningful ways for various audiences. They have utilized ADAPT’s training and technical assistance services numerous times over the last few years to tighten their approach to the important strategies they are implementing. For more information on Taos Alive, please reach out to Miles Bonny at miles@taosalive.org.

Prevention Tip

What are We Really Trying to Achieve?

Over the last forty years, many activities have been developed and implemented with the goal of preventing substance use in youth. Some have worked and others have not. Today, advancements in prevention science allow us to be more equipped than ever to prevent youth substance use. Yet achieving prevention is not easy and it is critical that we ground ourselves in shared approaches and understanding in order to reach this goal. Below are few lessons learned that can help keep us on track toward our prevention goals. 

1. If we want to truly achieve effective substance use prevention—that is, truly preventing the behavior of substance use – we need to build a strong prevention infrastructure informed by a comprehensive strategy and comprised of synthesized programs, practices, and policies grounded in the best available evidence.
2. Effective prevention requires a comprehensive strategy. A comprehensive prevention strategy includes preventive interventions across the continuum of substance risk that align with the needs of a community.
3. Operationalizing a comprehensive strategy requires hard work. There are resources and community frameworks to help identify and scale effective community-based strategies, including SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF), Communities that Care, and Promoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER).
4. Doing this hard work requires time, collaboration and commitment. Allow the time it takes to engage multiple community systems, structures, and citizen groups to work synchronously toward a common prevention goal.
5. Effective prevention yields what we are trying to achieve. The work of prevention is powerful, and by following these key lessons learned from prevention science, we can improve the health and wellbeing of youth and communities.

Mark Your Calendars

2023 HIDTA PREVENTION SUMMIT

YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION:

ADDRESSING THE ISSUES OF OUR TIME

OCTOBER 12, 2023

8:45 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. EST

The purpose of the 2023 HIDTA Prevention Summit is to address complex prevention issues of today with a focus on integration of activities focused on current and emerging substances into a comprehensive strategy.

Up to 6 FREE CEs!

To view subscription links to all previously listed resources in this section, such as substance use prevention newsletters, click HERE and scroll to GET CONNECTED. 

A Meta-Analysis Study on Peer Influence and Adolescent Substance Use

A recently published systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to quantify the extent to which peers influence substance use among youth aged 10 – 19. Results showed youth are more likely to change their substance use to align in the same direction as their peers’ actual use or what they perceived to be their peers’ use. This was seen most strongly for alcohol, tobacco, and composite measures assessing for general substance use.

Read the study and its implications for prevention HERE.

SAPST Training Has Been Updated

The Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training (SAPST) is an introductory, foundational course on substance use prevention intended for entry-level prevention practitioners and professionals in related fields. The training recently underwent a revision to include updates and additions on topics including health disparities and health equity, harm reduction related to prevention, culture and cultural proficiency, capacity enhancement, and sustainability.

Learn more about the updates HERE.

SAPST training and other trainings for prevention professionals can be accessed through the Prevention Technology Transfer Center Network.

From Prevention Science to Services: Identifying Paths to Sustainable Evidence-Based Preventive Interventions

An article published earlier this year provides specific examples of how those involved in developing and funding prevention interventions in healthcare settings can increase collaboration to help these interventions be implemented, sustained, and scaled in communities.

Read more HERE.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Adds Spanish Text and Chat Service

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which provides 24/7 free and confidential support to people in suicidal, substance use, or mental health crisis, has launched Spanish text and chat services. Individuals can now connect directly to Spanish-speaking crisis counselors. The 988 Lifeline launched last July and since has answered nearly 5 million calls, texts, and chats.

For more on the 988 Lifeline, click HERE.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Publishes National Model Standards for Substance Use, Mental Health, and Family Peer Worker Certifications

In June, National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification were published through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The document was designed to help with the universal adoption, recognition, and integration of the peer workforce. A peer worker is someone with lived experience of substance use or a mental health issue who works to help others.

The announcement can be viewed HERE, and the Standards can be viewed HERE.

First Ever HIDTA Youth Substance Use Prevention Institute!

In May 2023, the Washington/Baltimore and Rocky Mountain HIDTAs co-sponsored a first-ever HIDTA Youth Substance Use Prevention Institute! The two-day hybrid institute was developed to support public safety, public health, and prevention professionals in working together to achieve effective prevention. Prevention experts and practitioners delivered presentations to strengthen understanding the fundamentals of effective substance use prevention, introduce effective prevention interventions for youth, and discuss opportunities for prevention in school and community settings. Attendees participated in workshops where they were guided through the process of thinking through and generating specific steps to support the development of a comprehensive substance use prevention strategy for their community.

The event was attended by 442 public safety, public health, and prevention professionals. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Over 97% of attendees found the delivery of the material to be relatable to their work and digestible. 72% of attendees found that most of the content (over 50%) was new to them, and 78% indicated they would apply their newly learned knowledge within the next four weeks! On-demand viewing for this event is available on ADAPT’s YouTube channel.