Stop act-garvin county - wichita mountains prevention network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in southern oklahoma, is applying to be the sponsoring agency for the pass coalition as a…

Stop act-garvin county - wichita mountains prevention network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in southern oklahoma, is applying to be the sponsoring agency for the pass coalition as a sober truth on preventing underage drinking act grantee to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults in garvin county residents 12 to 20 years of age. Wmpn has a home office in lawton and a satellite office in ardmore that serves garvin county. Garvin county is a rural county located in south-central oklahoma with a population of 25,860. Pass is a community coalition that was established in 2017 by a group of parents concerned about substance use issues in lindsay public schools who decided to take action. In 2021, pass and wmpn partnered to facilitate community-based prevention services grants throughout the whole county. When the coalition transitioned from lindsay to serving the whole county, pass's capacity changed and is still in need of support. Pass has a good foundation of key stakeholders, but the coalition is in need of capacity building in areas such as organizational structure rebuilding, coalition member recruitment, working with and or establishing a youth advisory group, knowledge of evidenced-based practices and effective implementation strategies, as well as identifying and addressing overlapping risk and protective factors at a community level. The stop act grant would provide the tools and funding for pass to increase the coalition's capacity to effect positive change in a rural landscape where existing resources could be maximized to address current and future challenges associated with underage alcohol use. Pass has an existing partnership with the garvin county sheriff's department who oversees the majority of the county's student resource officers (SRO's), and has been vital to prevention efforts. The sheriff's department, pass, and SRO's from across the county have established regular collaborative meetings to discuss issues each school is facing and identify specific needs to assist the schools, students, and the officers. These meetings have helped identify that underage alcohol use is a major concern. There is a need for law enforcement training on alcohol compliance checks oklahoma's social host law, a law that holds people accountable for allowing underage drinking on their property. Pass has had youth participate in developing media, volunteering at events, and participating in youth focus groups. The stop act grant would be an incredible opportunity to expand our youth involvement into a more formalized advisory group that can contribute to prevention decisions and CO-host events such as party dispersal exercises and safe after-prom activities. Through this opportunity, pass members will utilize the strategic prevention framework to assess the needs of the community, increase coalition capacity to address identified needs, develop a plan to address indicated needs, implement appropriate prevention strategies, and evaluate the progress and outcome of our efforts. The goal of this grant is to strengthen collaboration and increase pass's capacity to prevent and reduce alcohol use and related problems among youth and young adults ages 12-20, by increasing its capacity to prevent substance use and related mental and physical health outcomes. As the sponsoring agency, wmpn has the experience to manage federal and state grants. Wmpn currently serves 5 counties in southern oklahoma through grants funded by the oklahoma department of mental health and substance abuse services, the substance abuse and mental health services administration, and the centers for disease control. These opportunities have allowed wmpn to address scopes of alcohol, cannabis, opioids, stimulants, and tobacco. Wmpn and the members of pass are seeking stop act grant funding due to the need for additional resources to address substance use and prevent further damage to the well-being of garvin county youth and future generations.