Register for Session 2 in Our Health Equity Series
We are continuing our Health Equity Series targeted at helping prevention providers build their capacity to promote health equity in prevention processes and strategies.

Last month, we hosted the first session, which opened the dialogue about the importance of health equity in the field of prevention. We defined essential terms of how inequities are formed and who is most impacted.
Now, in Session 2, we apply what we’ve learned to needs assessment training, identifying health equity problems. This training session outlines the steps and components involved in conducting a needs assessment, including data collection and the identification and prioritization of the problem, and contributing factors.

Session 2 is Wednesday, October 13, 2021, from 11 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. ET
Health Equity Community of Practice
Plus, we will have a virtual Community of Practice offered to session attendees looking for a deeper discussion and planning around the application of health equity. To facilitate discussion and hands-on learning, registration will be limited, so register now. 

Friday, October 22, from 11 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. ET
CHANGE YOUR WORDS. CHANGE YOUR WORLD.
Free Expressive Writing Course
Presented by our friends at Together for Resilient Youth, register for an engaging learning course on the power and importance of expressive writing skills.

The 6-week course is provided free of charge, and will equip attendees with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively draft expressive writing. Expressive writing assists in the understanding and management of situational and environmental traumas that impact many of us. This is a skill that can be beneficial in uncovering previously unknown stressors, as well.

The course begins tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. ET. Register at the link below to save your spot!
October is National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month
President Joe Biden has proclaimed the month of October National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month. The president took this action to raise awareness of the number of young people impacted by addiction and substance misuse. In 2020, more than 93,000 people died from an overdose in the United States, and the COVID-19 pandemic only intensified the problem.
 
The president is dedicated to reaffirming the commitment to helping America’s youth overcome this epidemic and lead healthy, fulfilling lives. Through the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, he wants to expand evidence-based prevention programs and provide better access to care and recovery support services. 
Opioid Education and Prevention Must Continue
Within the last 30 years, researchers have been examining opioid overdose death rates. Since the 1990s, those numbers kept climbing; until statistics showed the numbers beginning to flatten in 2018 and 2019. Not, however, in the Black community where deaths rose sharply. 

In a recent study led by Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, researchers took a deeper look at racial disparities in recent opioid deaths. Their findings show that not all communities are benefitting from prevention education. While numbers were staying flat in many communities, the number of deaths in the Black community actually rose nearly 40 percent, leaving researchers to examine how structural racism affects health.
CDC Recommends Inclusive Communication Guide for Professionals
The CDC’s Health Equity Guiding Principles for Inclusive Communication
discusses the need to be inclusive and respectful by learning the best communication practices. This guide is for public health workers to ensure proper and positive communication with people from all different communities to prevent health disparities. 

The document includes using a health equity lens, considering key principles, using preferred terms, consideration of communication development, and exploring ways to increase communications, in an effort to best address all communities, especially those in need. 
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