Lake county community health coalition - drug-free communities (DFC) and support program - new lake county community health coalition project abstract summary as with much of ohio, lake county has…

Lake county community health coalition - drug-free communities (DFC) and support program - new lake county community health coalition project abstract summary as with much of ohio, lake county has experienced a growing substance abuse problem in recent years, including 31% identified alcohol-related death as a health concern in lake county from the 2019 lake county community health needs assessment (chna) survey results. Approximately 1 in 3 premature deaths among 5-64 year olds are alcohol-related (naimi ET AL. 2019). One in three adults reported binge drinking the past 30 days. Alcohol abuse is associated with depression, heart disease, stroke, cancer, liver cirrhosis, cognitive decline, peripheral neuropathy, decreased bone density, and low blood cell counts (shuckit, 2009). 5% of lake county residents reported driving while intoxicated in the past 30 days, specifically 16 to 20-year-old males were in the high-risk profile. 78% of residents and 100% of community leaders identified drug overdose deaths in lake county as a health concern, high risk profile were caucasian males, 25 to 54 years old in the labor, maintenance, or trade occupations. One focus group participant shared, "i think if you talk to any of our first responders they will tell you the drug and alcohol problems in our county are pretty bad. You know you have kids that are putting hash marks on their arm when they are brought back from an overdose. Our response and approach ISN't right. I DON't know if we have to be more severe or more understanding, but let's face IT, a slap on the wrist doesn't work." -focus group participant. Secondary data collected in the process of conducting the 2022 chna indicated that based on the most recent available data from 2018 lake county has a higher rate of adults excessively using alcohol than the state and national rates, as well as two demographically similar comparison counties in ohio. Excessively using alcohol is defined as reporting at least one binge drinking episode for men and four or more for women) over the past 30 days or heavy drinking, involving more than two drinks per day for men and more than one per day for women over the past 30 days. The 2014 lake youth health status assessment is the most recent data focused on lake county's 12-18-year-olds. This data was collected from a cross-section of lake county youth who participated in an assessment modeled after the youth risk behavior surveillance survey (yrbss) and was approved for use in local schools. The assessment results indicated that 49% of lake county youth in grades 6-12 had at least one drink of alcohol in their life and 13% drank alcohol for the first time before age 13. In addition, 10% of lake county youth took prescription pain medication that was not prescribed or took more than prescribed to get high in their lives. The lake county community health coalition began its efforts 18 months ago with a concerted effort of working long-term collaboration across 10 sectors with the intent of incorporating and enhancing prevention supports and services to educate youth about the dangers of alcohol and opioid use. Lake county juvenile court judge deleone and his staff have begun work in collaboration with these partners to create diversion programs and additional mental health services for juvenile offenders. He recently received the reclaim grant to support local lake county juvenile offenders on probation to become more connected to the school by receiving no-cost scholarships for school activities. In addition, this past month he collaborated with the local lake county fairgrounds and adamhs board to create an in cars driving teen program. The call for action for the coalition is working to support local area school districts to create and utilize a common needs assessment and then work to incorporate supports and services with the support of representatives across the 12 sectors.