Own your vibe: hamblen county underage drinking prevention initiative - the hamblen county substance abuse coalition (hcsac) proposes own your vibe: hamblen county underage drinking prevention…

Own your vibe: hamblen county underage drinking prevention initiative - the hamblen county substance abuse coalition (hcsac) proposes own your vibe: hamblen county underage drinking prevention initiative to prevent and reduce underage drinking across hamblen county, tennessee. This initiative will strengthen local prevention capacity through coordinated education, youth and parent engagement, responsible retail practices, community awareness, and environmental strategies that reduce youth access to alcohol while promoting healthier youth development. The own your vibe project will serve hamblen county, a predominantly rural community of approximately 68,000 residents. IT responds to the need for stronger prevention infrastructure, including improved coordination among community partners, expanded access to shared data, increased youth leadership opportunities, enhanced parent education, stronger retailer engagement, and more effective policy and enforcement strategies that limit youth access to alcohol. The population of focus is youth ages 12-20 who are at risk for alcohol initiation, continued use, and alcohol-related consequences. Direct services will include school-based prevention education, youth leadership and peer activities, parent outreach and education, and alcohol-free community events that provide safe, structured alternatives to underage drinking. Hcsac will implement five coordinated, evidence-informed strategies designed to create lasting community impact. These include youth alcohol prevention education, the parent power initiative, alcohol-free community events, a responsible retailer program, and countywide awareness campaigns, supported by community mobilization through data review and policy development. Collectively, these strategies will engage schools, parents and caregivers, youth, retailers, law enforcement, healthcare providers, faith leaders, local government, and other community organizations in a unified prevention effort. The goals of the project are to reduce underage drinking, increase youth perception of risk related to alcohol use, strengthen family protective factors, reduce youth access to alcohol, increase youth participation in healthy, alcohol-free activities, and build long-term community capacity to sustain prevention efforts through collaboration and systems-level change. The project includes clear and measurable objectives. Each year, hcsac will provide alcohol prevention education to at least 3,000 youth and engage at least 250 parents through outreach and education activities. The initiative will also conduct six alcohol-free youth events annually, reaching at least 1,500 participants, and engage 100 percent of local alcohol retailers in responsible retail education and awareness activities. In addition, the project will generate at least 100,000 prevention message impressions through countywide awareness campaigns and convene two annual community town hall meetings to review local data, identify emerging concerns, and guide prevention action planning. These objectives directly support samhsa's strategic priorities, including prevention, community engagement, health promotion, and reducing substance misuse among youth.