May, 2022
National Prevention Week
Mark your calendars! SAMHSA's National Prevention Week is May 8 through 14, 2022. This national public education platform brings together communities and organizations to raise awareness about the importance of substance use prevention and positive mental health. Check out

the many ways you and your community can get involved! Host an event or activity, promote the observance locally, or participate in the #MyPreventionStory social media challenge. You can also attend the virtual Prevention Day conference on May 9.

New NPW Daily Themes

Day 1: Strengthening Community Resilience
Day 2: Preventing Substance Use and Promoting Mental Health in Youth
Day 3: Preventing Suicie
Day 4: The Talent Pipeline
Day 5: Prevention is Everywhere
Day 6: Celebrating Prevention Heros
"By promoting healthy behaviors and preventing drug and alcohol misuse, we reduce the risk of substance use disorder."

— Karel Homrig,
Executive Director at Prevention First
Prevention First is hiring for FOUR positions: Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Instructional Design Specialist, Conference Coordinator, Chief Program Officer. Click here to learn more about these employment opportunities.
According to 2021 Monitoring the Future results, alcohol remains the substance most widely used by today's teenagers. The 2022 National Drug Control Strategy, released in April, shared the goal of increasing prevention efforts with the objective to decrease the 30-day alcohol use rate among youth aged 12-17 by 10% by 2025. Communities can create, change, or strengthen their alcohol environment by developing local alcohol policies to reduce underage drinking and alcohol misuse. The APRC has resources and tools for evidence-based alcohol policy and law enforcement strategies for municipal leaders, law enforcement, and community coalitions focused on underage drinking. All resources are available to download, and some are available to order in print from the Clearinghouse.  
The Alcohol Policy Resource Center can assist with analyzing your data, scanning your community, and matching policy/strategy to assessment findings. If you have any questions or need more information, please reach out to Kellie Henrichs or Jody Heavilin. 
We are holding our next meeting on June 1, 2022, from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM via Webex. Meeting minutes and agendas are housed on the APRC website. If you want to know more about or are interested in attending, please reach out to the APRC - Kellie Henrichs or Jody Heavilin. 
Excessive alcohol use is a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., and it is associated with other substance use. The use of multiple substances heightens the risk of overdose. This presentation will describe research on patterns of drinking and other substance use, including prescription drug misuse while drinking. It will also discuss indications of changes in alcohol use and related harms in recent years. The presentation will highlight tools and resources that can inform the implementation of effective strategies to reduce excessive drinking and other substance use in states and communities. 
Creating a responsible alcohol environment within the community requires the appropriate mix of policies and adequate enforcement of existing laws. In this 1-hour webinar, the presenter will discuss the need for coalitions to establish and maintain strong working relationships with the Illinois Liquor Control Commission and local law enforcement agencies to maximize efforts to enforce the State and local alcohol laws. The presenter will provide practical tips on specific ways coalitions can provide technical assistance and support to law enforcement agencies engaging in the enforcement of alcohol laws throughout the community. Maintaining a strong ongoing working relationship will help to ensure the legal, safe and responsible manufacture, distribution, and retail sale of alcoholic beverages throughout Illinois.
Exciting Announcement!
The YPRC is excited to announce the 22-23 Student Advisory Board!

Please look for our introduction in the May issue of the YPRC newsletter.
Please visit us on social media!
Technical Assistance, commonly referred to as consulting or coaching, is a one-on-one service that provides timely, flexible, and targeted support to an organization. Using a collaborative approach, Prevention First builds a prevention professional’s capacity to address their local conditions and develop their own prevention solutions to amplify programmatic effectiveness.
Resources for Building Health Equity & Inclusion Into your Prevention Efforts

Consider attending the upcoming webinar hosted by Great Lakes PTTC: Creating Inclusive Prevention Organization and Coalitions. On May 10th, this webinar will discuss how to strive for inclusivity within your coalitions in order to reap the greatest benefits from diversity. Click here for additional information and registration. 
Online Training Spotlight:

Environmental strategies target the broader physical, social, cultural, and institutional forces that influence problem behaviors. This online training provides an overview of environmental strategies, including the process of identifying the best environmental strategies for your community as well as which stakeholders to engage in the selection and implementation. Click here for more information.
Online Self Study Courses
For more information about technical assistance or other services we offer,
Click it or Ticket Campaign
May 26 - June 5, 2022
The Click It or Ticket campaign focuses on safety education, strong laws, and law enforcement support to save lives. 

Seat belts have been proven to be one of the best ways to save your life in a crash. Yet, many still don't buckle up. Worse still, not wearing a seat belt is a habit that will pass on to impressionable youth who, in turn, will think it is safe not to buckle up.

Unfortunately, we still have nearly 10% of drivers and passengers who do not wear seat belts. Even more horrifying are the children and infants who may be included in this number. They are the youngest victims, and they are almost always reliant upon adults to buckle them into their car seats or boosters correctly.

Between 2015 and 2019, seat belts saved more than 69,000 lives. That means 69,000 seat belts prevented families from grieving the loss of their loved ones for decades to come.

Buckling your seat belt should be automatic. It should be the first thing done when you get in the car. Our greatest wish is to spread the message about the importance of seat belt use and remind people that seat belt use isn’t just a suggestion; it’s the law.

In Illinois, all vehicle occupants, regardless of seating position, must use a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt. Do you buckle up every trip every time?
The Traffic Safety Resource Center is funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation. 
Learn About Cannabis Policy Implications
May 4, 2022 at 11 am CST
The New England PTTC is hosting a great upcoming learning opportunity about cannabis policy implications! Cannabis policy had undergone rapid change over the past decade. This presentation will take a deeper look at what is happening with cannabis policy in New England, examine the potential implications for risk factors associated with cannabis use disorder, and what the emerging science is telling us in terms of how to reduce harm for those who may be using cannabis. The discussion will include, Issues and considerations regarding the use of medical marijuana and hemp derivatives in Probation/Parole; Pretrial Release/Supervised Release, and Recovery Courts.


Alcohol and the Adolescent Brain
NIAAA recently hosted a symposium focused on key topics within alcohol research. Read their article based on one of the event's presentations: Alcohol and the Adolescent Brain: What We’ve Learned and Where the Data Are Taking Us.
There's a Resource for That!

We have created and gathered helpful resources to help you deliver strategic and intentional prevention efforts. Visit our Substance Use Prevention Resource Center to find a collection of resource guides, video links, full toolkits and curriculums, tip sheets and more.
Professional Development at Your Pace
Archived Webinars

Don't miss out on Prevention First's collection of live webinars to watch at your own convenience:

For APRC Webinars, visit their GoTo Stage for archived webinars.

For CPRC Webinars, visit their webpage- Archived Webinars on the sidebar.

For Substance Use Prevention Webinars, visit SUPP Training Events- Archived Webinar on the sidebar.

For Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Webinars, visit their webpage.

For SUPR Treatment & Recovery Webinars, visit SUPR Training Events- Archived Webinar on the sidebar.