Project Grant 20SRSTN004

THE MISSION OF THE ROANE COUNTY ANTI-DRUG COALITION (RCADC) IS TO REDUCE YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE; TO EDUCATE AND RAISE AWARENESS OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND OTHER DRUG ISSUES; TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT; AND TO STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND PREVENTION STRATEGIES IN ROANE COUNTY, TENNESSEE. THE GOAL IS TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE POPULATION-LEVEL REDUCTIONS IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE RATES. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED BY IMPLEMENTING COMMUNITY-WIDE STRATEGIES THAT CHANGE PROBLEM ENVIRONMENTS. THE PRIMARY FOCUS AREA OF THIS PROJECT IS HEALTHY FUTURES. THE NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS SUPPORTED BY THE PROGRAM IS 108 AND THE DOLLAR AMOUNT REQUESTED IS $107,500. ALL 108 OF THE RSVP VOLUNTEERS WILL BE PLACED IN OUTCOME ASSIGNMENTS TO MEET CRITICAL COMMUNITY NEEDS. RSVP VOLUNTEERS ARE TRAINED TO ADHERE TO EVIDENCE-BASED PRINCIPLES FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AS IDENTIFIED BY THE WHITE HOUSE'S OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY. THESE PRACTICES HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE IN DECREASING SUBSTANCE USE AND INCREASING COMMUNITY COLLABORATION. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE PROGRAM WILL MEET THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES: DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS FOR THE "COUNT IT LOCK IT DROP IT" CAMPAIGN TO ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF MEDICATIONS; THE LAUNCH OF A COUNTY-WIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN FOCUSED ON INCREASING VOLUNTEER EFFORTS IN PREVENTION; PARTICIPATION IN YOUTH PREVENTION ACTIVITIES IN COLLABORATION WITH ROANE COUNTY SCHOOLS; ORGANIZATION AND TRAINING FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON PREVENTION BASICS AND MAKING REFERRALS FOR TREATMENT; AND DELIVERING SUBSTANCE ABUSE EDUCATION AND INFORMATION ON ACCESS TO TREATMENT WITH A FOCUS ON MILITARY VETERANS. IT IS PROJECTED THAT BY THE END OF THE THREE-YEAR GRANT, THE NUMBER OF YOUTH WHO REPORT USING ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, MARIJUANA AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS WILL DECREASE BY 2%; THE REPORTED AGE OF FIRST USE AMONG YOUTH WILL INCREASE; AND THE NUMBER OF OVERDOSE DEATHS IN ROANE COUNTY WILL DECREASE BY 3%. THE CNCS FEDERAL INVESTMENT OF $107,500 WILL BE SUPPLEMENTED BY $46,435 IN NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES. A RECENTLY COMPLETED BENEFIT COST STUDY SUGGESTS THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED INITIATIVES WILL ULTIMATELY SAVE THE COUNTY $14.66 IN PUBLIC BURDEN SPENDING FOR EVERY DOLLAR SPENT ON PREVENTION. THIS EQUATES TO A SAVINGS OF $4,727,850 OVER THE THREE-YEAR PROJECT PERIOD.