"healthy community, hopeful future" - the manatee county substance abuse prevention coalition, d/b/a drug free manatee (DFM) will expand its efforts to reduce underage alcohol use by youth ages 12…

"healthy community, hopeful future" - the manatee county substance abuse prevention coalition, d/b/a drug free manatee (DFM) will expand its efforts to reduce underage alcohol use by youth ages 12 to 20 by continuing to positively impact community norms, reducing access and availability and increasing awareness and enforcement of existing laws through three initiatives started under our drug free communities grant: an update and expansion of the know the law program, and update and expansion of the parents who host, lose the most media campaign, and an enhancement of the positive impact youth in action teams and drug free youth members have on their peers and their community by increasing their media reach via social media, television, radio, and movie theaters. These activities will continue our success in reducing manatee's youth alcohol 30-day use rates by more than 40% from 2012 to 2014, and dovetail nicely with our drug free communities strategies by increasing community collaborations; implementing comprehensive, branded media campaigns; media advocacy and social media marketing that broaden the discussion about underage drinking as a public health, community wellness, and safety issue; presenting policy-based solutions to the issue; providing technical assistance to organizations and other community groups in their efforts to reduce underage drinking; and by reducing factors in the social/ cultural environment that encourage youth alcohol use. DFM's proposed activities address a community issue identified through strategic prevention framework (SPF) processes from 2008 to 2018 that saw the coalition assess prevention needs based on epidemiological data, build our prevention capacity by leveraging resources through partnerships and collaborations, develop and monitor a strategic plan, implement effective community prevention programs, policies and practices, and evaluate our efforts for success. DFM's planned project aligns with samsha strategic initiatives that call for using a comprehensive mix of evidence-supported prevention strategies to build social connectedness, community cohesion, and strengthen families. Through the successful implementation of these activities, in conjunction with current and ongoing efforts, DFM will bring manatee's youth alcohol use rates to better-than-state-average levels, effectively and additional 8% drop from 2018 manatee students' 30-day use rates (as measured by the florida youth substance abuse survey) by 2022. We believe that when a community is health, the future is hopeful.