Lakes area community coalition will reduce youth prescription drug misuse in our community by implementing community-level change strategies. - the mission of the lakes area community coalition is…

Lakes area community coalition will reduce youth prescription drug misuse in our community by implementing community-level change strategies. - the mission of the lakes area community coalition is to build a healthy, vibrant, drug-free community by reducing youth substance use. As a DFC-funded coalition, we do this by using the strategic prevention framework and working with our sector partners to build up protective factors and reduce risk factors around our youth. While we are currently observing data that indicates that our youth are misusing prescription medication and/or opioids at rates that consistently exceed national averages, we propose to address the risk factors posed by our unique local conditions. Plans to address these factors include utilizing the seven strategies for community-level change to limit youth access to opioids, increase perception of the risks of misusing prescription stimulants and benzodiazepines in particular, and promote the positive community norms around safe prescription use. We intend to target youth, parents, and healthcare providers with activities in all strategy areas. Over the duration of this project, we plan to reduce the percentage of students reporting 30 day use of prescription medication and to increase the percentage of students perceiving prescription misuse as a high-risk behavior.