Geauga community forum coalition - drug-free communities (DFC) and support program - new geauga community forum coalition project abstract summary as with much of ohio, geauga county has experienced a…

Geauga community forum coalition - drug-free communities (DFC) and support program - new geauga community forum coalition project abstract summary as with much of ohio, geauga county has experienced a growing substance abuse problem in recent years, including 24% of adults in geauga county being considered binge drinkers and 15.3% of treatment claims having a primary diagnosis of cannabis use disorder in 2019. , anecdotally, nearly 90% of teachers and staff reported seeing an increase in youth substance use in recent years. When asked which substances are most often misused by youth in the community, 85% of respondents indicated marijuana and 70% indicated alcohol. Additionally, 55% of geauga county students do not have sufficient assets to thrive as a result of having a lack protective factors related to connection to school, community support, positive activities, and positive sense of self. , research indicates that these risk factors are some of the most common associated with high-risk youth substance use. The purpose of the geauga community forum coalition (gcfc) is to reverse these problems by convening a cross-system group of community stakeholders to strategically determine environmental prevention strategies that help youth build resiliency and reduce risk factors associated with youth substance use. By working at the community and environmental levels, the coalition's activities are specifically designed to positively impact prevalence rates of youth use of alcohol and marijuana at the population-health level. This purpose ultimately empowers community stakeholders to assist youth in building resiliency and reducing risk factors that contribute to the development of behavioral health conditions, particularly as IT relates to alcohol and marijuana use. Utilizing the strategic prevention framework and cadca's seven strategies for community-level change, gcfc will achieve the following outcomes that are aligned with their 12-month action plan. Short-term outcomes: coalition members will be fully informed about youth substance use. Retailers will become more knowledgeable about the dangers and prevalence of underage drinking. More community members will become aware of the dangers of youth marijuana use. Intermediate outcomes: coalition members will have the skillsets needed to implement environmental prevention strategies identified within the coalition's 12-month action plan. Schools will develop codes of conduct regarding alcohol consumption by youth. Access to alcohol and marijuana will decrease for youth. Youth participation in prosocial activities will increase. Youth leaders will become more skilled and knowledgeable in encouraging peers not to use marijuana. Long-term outcomes: the overall number and retention of coalition members will increase. Fewer youth will drink alcohol and use marijuana.