Introducing Prevention First's New Chief Program Officer! |
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Prevention First is thrilled to announce Steve Henry as our Chief Program Officer. Steve is an enthusiastic and dynamic senior-level professional with over ten years of experience specializing in program development and project management. He prides himself on cultivating relationships and engaging clients and staff through facilitating workshops and conducting community outreach. Steve comes to Prevention
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First from the Detroit Health Department, where he was an Employment Engagement & Development Manager. In this role, he focused on training, development, employee engagement, diversity, inclusion, health equity, and strategic planning. Steven has a Bachelors in Family and Youth Studies, a Masters in Social Justice, and numerous related certifications that will lend themselves well to our work.
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"I'm very committed to and passionate about diversity and inclusion work, as well as advocating for health equity for underserved and vulnerable populations."
– Steve Henry,
Chief Program Officer
Prevention First
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Alcohol Policies and Suicide Prevention |
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The Alcohol Policy Resource Center can assist with how to analyze your data, scan your community, and match policy/strategy to assessment findings. The APRC can also provide certified training to law enforcement on evidence-based strategies such as Alcohol Compliance Checks or Controlled Party Dispersal. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Kellie Henrichs or Jody Heavilin.
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Don't Miss Regular Resources!
The YPRC staff and the Student Advisory Board are working to bring you new resources throughout the year. We will introduce each new resource in the YPRC Newsletter and on our various social media channels.
Join our mailing list or follow our social channels to stay current on our latest resources, trainings, and webinars:
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Bring QPR or Mental Health First Aid Training to your Community |
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QPR
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and question, persuade, and refer someone to help. QPR can be learned in our Gatekeeper course (virtual or in person) in as little as one hour.

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Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches participants how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives First Aiders the skills they need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis. The YPRC provides training in Youth Mental Health First Aid (for adults to assist young people) and Teen Mental Health First Aid (for young people to provide Mental Health First Aid to their peers). Courses can be held in person or virtually. Depending on the delivery method, the instructor-led portion of Youth MHFA courses runs between 4.5 and 8 hours. Teen MHFA courses are taught in multiple shorter sessions.
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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. For more information about technical assistance, please contact providerservices@prevention.org or call 312.909-9768.
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New Self-Study Course
We are excited to introduce a new online self-study course available at Prevention First – Introduction to Illinois Youth Survey (IYS) Data. This course will help you become familiar with the contents and organization of Illinois Youth Survey (IYS) school reports, evaluate the strengths and limitations of IYS data, and understand the process for analyzing IYS data.
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Advancing in Culturally Responsive Prevention Programming
Where do you think your organization is on the path to providing culturally responsive prevention services? Download the Delivering Culturally Responsive Prevention Resource Guide to learn more about cultural responsiveness, cultural humility and related concepts, social determinants of health (SDOH), and health equity concerning the prevention of substance use. The guide also offers suggestions for implementing culturally responsive prevention activities.
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Online Self Study Courses |
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For more information about technical assistance or other services we offer,
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Nearly all Cannabis Dispensary Licenses Issued in Illinois
This month, Illinois issued additional dispensary licenses, bringing the total number of licensed dispensaries to 182 out of 185 allotted by statute. As the commercial cannabis market in Illinois continues to mature, stay on top of developments by signing up for our newsletter.
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National Child Passenger Safety Week
Sept. 18 - 24, 2022
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car crashes are a leading cause of death for children. On average, two children under 13 were killed daily while riding in cars, SUVs, pickups, or vans. In 2020, more than a third (38%) of children who died while riding in passenger vehicles were unrestrained.
Decades of research and data tell us that the best way for parents and caregivers to keep children safe in vehicles is to correctly use the right car seat or seat belt for their child’s age and size.
In Illinois, children must be restrained in an appropriate car or booster seat until age eight and in a rear-facing seat until age two. NHTSA recommends that children stay restrained in their car seats until they outgrow the height and weight limit set by the seat’s manufacturer. This often means keeping children in rear-facing seats beyond age two and boosters far beyond age 8.
Make sure your child is riding in #TheRightSeat.
- Infants face the back until they reach the car seat’s height or weight limit. By law, children must ride rear-facing until at least age 2.
- Toddlers (age 2+) face the front in seats with a harness and top tether until they reach the car seat’s height or weight limit.
- Bigger kids use booster seats until close to 4’9”. By law, kids must ride in a booster until at least age 8.
- Children under age 13 should ride in the back seat. Everyone buckles up in every seating position for life!
Most parents are confident that they have correctly installed their child’s car seat, but in almost half the cases (46%), the seat has not been installed correctly. NHTSA encourages parents and caregivers to ensure their car seats and booster seats are just right. Having your car seat installation checked by a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician is a quick, free, and important way to have peace of mind about your child’s safety.
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Help Celebrate Recovery Month
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September is National Recovery Month. This annual observance educates Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with a mental and/or substance use disorder to live a healthy and rewarding life. Learn how you can get involved and celebrate recovery here. You can also share information and resources from Prevention First's public awareness campaign, Rethink Recovery.
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Professional Development at Your Pace |
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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 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Webinars, visit their webpage.

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