Montana State Elks Association Drug Awarneness Program
Community-based Alcohol & Drug Prevention Programs
Community-based alcohol and drug prevention programs can be effective in helping to address major challenges raised by substance misuse and its consequences.
In Gallatin County, Alcohol & Drug Services of Gallatin County, Community Coalition On Drug Awareness, Elks Drug Awareness Program, Gallatin County DUI Task Force, and Montana State University Substance Abuse Free Environment Coalition are working to change community-level risk and protective factors and achieve community wide reductions in substance use by planning and implementing one or more prevention strategies in multiple sectors simultaneously, with the goal of reaching as many members of the community as possible with accurate, consistent messages.
The simple premise here is that to prevent a problem from happening, we need to identify the factors that increase the risk of that problem developing and then find ways to reduce the risks.
Risk factors are characteristics of school, community and family environments, and of students and their peer groups known to predict increased likelihood of drug use, delinquency, school dropout, and violent behaviors among youth. Risk factors identified through research include chaotic home environments, academic failure, perceived external approval of drug use (peer, family, community), and parental substance abuse or mental illness.
Protective factors exert a positive influence and buffer against the negative influence of risk, thus reducing the likelihood that adolescents will engage in problem behaviors. Protective factors include strong bonding to family, school, community and peers, and healthy beliefs and clear standards for behavior.
The abuse of drugs is not a harmless personal decision: there are real, long-lasting, and devastating outcomes for those who abuse drugs and for their families, friends, and communities. And for some, the outcome may be lethal.
For more information about community-based drug prevention programs visit: c-coda.org
Rick Gale, Chairman
Montana State Elks Association
Drug Awareness Program