Products and Resources Catalog

    Prioritizing Equity in Prevention Series: The Role of Prevention in Addressing Alcohol Use in the U.S. Military August 22, 2023   Learning Session Description U.S. military personnel are particularly vulnerable to a number of health disparities due to their occupational stresses, hazards, and environments. These include frequent geographic relocations due to changing duty stations, undergoing deployments, and balancing work-life demands (e.g., supporting their families). Each of these factors contribute to alcohol misuse on their own, and taken together, create a high-risk setting for military personnel. Additionally, concern for potentially career-ending ramifications keep many personnel from seeking treatment or support. Military personnel report binge drinking at higher levels than the U.S. civilian population: in 2018, 34% of active duty personnel binge drank in the past 30 days compared to 27% of U.S. adults age 18 and older. This population also experiences extensive harms, including violence, injury, poor work performance, and potential harm to careers. This Learning Session will discuss the risk and protective factors that contribute to the military alcohol environment, drawing parallels between colleges and the military as institutions with unique opportunities for prevention efforts to promote health equity within this population. Participants will have the opportunity to assess the potential alcohol-related issues specific to the military population in their jurisdiction and develop a plan for collaborating with the military community to address these issues.   Objectives In this learning session, participants will: Describe alcohol consumption and harms specific to military personnel Discuss risk and protective factors that contribute to the alcohol environment on and around military installations Determine opportunities for collaboration in the prevention of excessive alcohol consumption among military personnel   Learning Session Recording and Slides The Role of Prevention in Addressing Alcohol Use in the U.S. Military Recording The Role of Prevention in Addressing Alcohol Use in the U.S. Military Slide Deck (PDF)   Presenter Alicia Sparks, PhD, MPH, is the Chair of the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance and a Senior Principal at Synergy Enterprises, where she serves as the Project Director for NIAAA’s APIS contract, as well as SAMHSA’s STOP Act contract. Dr. Sparks served as Project Director for CDC’s alcohol advertising monitoring project, for which she directed a team of researchers in conducting analyses of Nielsen data to determine alcohol industry compliance with self-governed rules on advertising alcohol to youth audiences. She has more than 12 years of experience in alcohol policy research, including designing, implementing, and evaluating studies, programs, and policies. Dr. Sparks has led the development of numerous publications on alcohol policy, including the 2022 Implementing Community-Level Policies to Prevent Alcohol Misuse evidence-based resource guide and the 2016 Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. She has published more than 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has presented at more than a dozen conferences. She is co-chair of the Alcohol Policy conference series and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Global Alcohol Policy Conference.   Questions Contact Britany Wiele ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this learning session.

  Recording: Telling the Story - What do You Know About Underage Drinking in Your State?   Webinar Resource:  Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking   With so many data resources available, how does one know what’s important, useful, and accessible? Participation in this webinar may provide insights into your current interventions, help identify collaborators, and highlight best practices. This webinar will present highlights from the recently published Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking from the federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD). The presenters will share national and state data on the policies, programs, and practices used to prevent and reduce underage drinking specific to the Great Lakes region (HHS Region 5). Presenters will explore the importance of increased collaboration across sectors in the changing landscape around underage drinking. Guidance will be provided on how to use the resources on the ICCPUD website including individual State Performance & Best Practices (SPBP) Reports. PRESENTERS:  Robert M. Vincent, MS.ED Rob Vincent is Associate Administrator for Alcohol Policy at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), where he advises the agency on alcohol policy issues and coordinates alcohol-related prevention and treatment activities. He also chairs the Agency Representatives Committee of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking. Mr. Vincent has worked in the substance misuse field at the local, state, and federal levels since 1988. He has worked in the area of substance misuse prevention, intervention, and treatment for more than 35 years as a nationally certified clinician, and has served as the director for Counseling and Assistance Programs for the U.S. Navy and Public Education. Rob served as the principal investigator of the Olympia Effective Adolescent Grant, and as a consultant specializing in the implementation of school-based prevention and treatment programs for several states. He received his Master of Science in Education Degree from Southern Illinois University. Alicia Sparks, PhD, MPH  Alicia Sparks has more than 10 years of experience at the nexus of policy and behavioral health research—including designing, implementing, and evaluating studies, programs, and policies—with a particular focus on systems-level change to prevent alcohol misuse and related harms. She is the current project director for NIAAA’s Alcohol Policy Information System as well as SAMHSA’s STOP Act to Prevent Underage Drinking Report to Congress. She has led the development of numerous publications intended for broad public dissemination. These include comprehensive guides on various substance use and mental health topics for community coalitions; the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health; and many peer-reviewed manuscripts with accompanying infographics to translate the research into practice.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Identify trends in underage drinking in the Great Lakes region. Describe the importance of cross-sector collaboration. List key resources available to support prevention planning. Access and use online resources to inform their underage drinking prevention efforts.   The Great Lakes A/MH/PTTC is offering this training for individuals working in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. This training is being provided in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders. 

HIV+ Patients and Substance Use Disorders – How to Provide Excellent Care Jim Winkle, MPH May 24, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION Medical and behavioral health professionals who work with HIV+ patients are in a unique position to help these patients reduce harm from substance use, but often feel at a loss how to do so effectively, in a limited amount of time, and without conveying judgement. HIV+ patients, meanwhile, may face stigma from health professionals, and may not relate to a singular focus on treatment programs. This presentation will improve the ability of primary care and specialty health professionals to screen for substance use disorders (SUDs) and perform a four-step brief intervention model that enhances the motivation of patients to reduce their risk of harm. As a result, clinicians will be better able to help these patients forge their own pathway to recovery. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe how SUDs impact HIV+ patients Demonstrate how to use a brief screening tool that identifies possible SUDs Demonstrate how to perform a four-step brief intervention that enhances the motivation of HIV+ patients to reduce harm from substance use Explain how principles of harm reduction can help mitigate provider stigma PRESENTERS Jim Winkle, MPH, has trained hundreds of behavioral health professionals how to address substance use with clients and patients. As the creator behind the SBIRT Oregon website, Jim has designed screening forms, clinic tools and training videos used by professionals across the country.  

Preventing Underage Alcohol Use (April 2023 Series) Part 2: Strategies and Recommendations for Prevention Josh Esrick, MPP, and Emily Patton, MSc, PgDip April 27, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION This webinar will discuss evidence-based prevention strategies for addressing underage alcohol use. It will cover both environmental and behavioral interventions, as well as opportunities to implement or expand policies and address the social determinants of health. The webinar will review both general strategies and those specifically focused on early adolescents or college-age youth. Lastly, it will provide an overview of Federal underage alcohol prevention efforts. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Recognize the importance of providing evidence-based alcohol misuse prevention strategies Describe evidence-based environmental strategies for preventing underage alcohol use Describe evidence-based behavioral strategies for preventing underage alcohol use among younger adolescents and college-age youth Identify Federal prevention efforts to address underage alcohol use PRESENTERS Josh Esrick, MPPJosh Esrick, MPP is a Senior Policy Analyst with Carnevale Associates. Josh has extensive experience in substance use prevention; researching, writing, and presenting on best practice and knowledge development publications, briefs, and reference guides; and developing and providing T/TA to numerous organizations. He developed numerous SAMHSA Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies’ (CAPT) products on strategies to prevent opioid misuse and overdose, risk and protective factors for substance use, youth substance use prevention strategies, youth substance use trends, emerging substance use trends, the potential regulations surrounding marijuana legalization, as well as numerous other topics. Emily Patton, MSEmily Patton, MSc, PgDip holds a Masters of Science in Abnormal and Clinical Psychology from Swansea University and a Postgraduate Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Edinburgh. She offers significant professional experience in the fields of public policy development and analysis, criminal justice research, data collection and analysis, program development, and performance management.

Preventing Underage Alcohol Use (April 2023 Series) Part 1: Identifying and Understanding the Data Josh Esrick, MPP, and Emily Patton, MSc, PgDip April 25, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION This webinar will provide a broad overview of the current state of underage drinking and related prevention efforts. It will begin with a review of the most common data sources on underage alcohol consumption and discuss opportunities to improve and expand data collection. The webinar will then summarize the most recent data on alcohol use prevalence and patterns, as well as the consequences of use. It will also describe the research on risk and protective factors for use, including what is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, it will provide information on how the social determinants of health play a role in underage alcohol use rates. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe underage alcohol data sources and available opportunities to expand data collection Explain the scope of underage alcohol use and consequences Identify risk and protective factors relevant to underage alcohol use Recognize the effect of the social determinants of health on underage alcohol use PRESENTERS Josh Esrick, MPPJosh Esrick, MPP is a Senior Policy Analyst with Carnevale Associates. Josh has extensive experience in substance use prevention; researching, writing, and presenting on best practice and knowledge development publications, briefs, and reference guides; and developing and providing T/TA to numerous organizations. He developed numerous SAMHSA Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies’ (CAPT) products on strategies to prevent opioid misuse and overdose, risk and protective factors for substance use, youth substance use prevention strategies, youth substance use trends, emerging substance use trends, the potential regulations surrounding marijuana legalization, as well as numerous other topics. Emily Patton, MSEmily Patton, MSc, PgDip holds a Masters of Science in Abnormal and Clinical Psychology from Swansea University and a Postgraduate Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Edinburgh. She offers significant professional experience in the fields of public policy development and analysis, criminal justice research, data collection and analysis, program development, and performance management.

In this Issue:   National Alcohol Awareness Month Resources for the Prevention Professional National Women's Health Week, May 14-20 How to Find Help Epi Corner: Substance Use Disorders in People with Disabilities What's Happening Around the Region? Webinar: Substance Misuse Among Students with Disabilities, A 2-part series, April 26 and May 18 Free Online Courses through HealtheKnowledge SAMHSA's National Prevention Week, May 7-13

How Primary Care Can Address Youth Substance Use Disorders Jim Winkle, MPH April 13, 2023, 1:00pm-3:00pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION Medical and behavioral health professionals who work in primary care are in a unique position to help adolescents living with substance use disorders (SUDs), but often feel at a loss how to do so effectively, in a limited amount of time, and without conveying judgement. Adolescents living with SUDs, meanwhile, may face stigma from health professionals, and may not relate to a singular focus on treatment programs. This presentation will improve the ability of primary care professionals to screen for SUDs with adolescent patients and perform a four-step brief intervention model that enhances the motivation of patients to reduce their risk of harm. As a result, clinicians will be better able to help these patients forge their own pathway to recovery. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Demonstrate how to use a screening tool that quickly identifies possible substance use disorders with adolescent patients Demonstrate how to perform a four-step brief intervention that enhances the motivation of adolescents to change their substance use Explain how principles of harm reduction can help mitigate provider stigma and help adolescents reduce harm from substance use Describe best practices in referring adolescent patients to substance use treatment PRESENTER Jim Winkle, MPH, has trained hundreds of behavioral health professionals how to address substance use with clients and patients. As the creator behind the SBIRT Oregon website, Jim has designed screening forms, clinic tools and training videos used by professionals across the country.  

Preventing Underage Drinking and Excessive Drinking among Adults through Alcohol Policy Webinar 3: The How - A Proven and Practical Model To Guide the Development of Local Alcohol Policies   March 15, 2023   Webinar Overview and Objectives This is the third part of a 3-part series focused on alcohol policy. In collaboration with the Southeast PTTC and the US Alcohol Policy Alliance, this interactive webinar provides an answer to the question, ‘How do we do alcohol policy at the local level?’ The session will provide an overview of The 10-step Policy Adoption Model utilized by the Southeast PTTC. In this webinar, participants will explore: How to identify coalition strengths and challenges related to policy development and implementation Understand the five internal steps of the Policy Adoption Model necessary to prepare a policy for public discussion, debate and support Learn the five external steps of the policy process with an emphasis on media advocacy, community organizing and post-adoption policy compliance    Learning Session Materials Recording for Webinar 3: The How - A  Proven and Practical Model to Guide the Development of Local Alcohol Policies Slide Deck for Webinar 3: The How - A Proven and Practical Model to Guide the Development of Local Alcohol Policies (PDF)   Additional Resources  Equitable Enforcement to Achieve Health Equity, an introductory guide for policy Makers & Practitioners Data Collection for Alcohol Policy Change, A toolkit for Local Coalitions Implementing Policy to Prevent Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Misuse: A Guidebook   Recordings for Other Sessions Recording for Webinar 1: The Why - Alcohol Policy: A Community Approach to Reduce Community Harms Recording for Webinar 2: The What - Evidence-Based Alcohol Policies to Reduce Community Level Harms   Presenters: Michael Sparks is an Alcohol Policy Specialist and President of Sparks Initiatives. His primary interest is in assisting communities to implement evidence-based environmental strategies to reduce alcohol and other drug problems. Among others, Michael is currently working with Wake Forest University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation and Health Foundation of South Florida on a range of public health issues. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the US Alcohol Policy Alliance.       Kristin Kidd is Director of the North Carolina Behavioral Health Equity Initiative. This project collaborates with North Carolina agencies and communities to address the structural or root causes of behavioral health inequities in historically underserved neighborhoods and communities of color. Kristin also provides local policy training and technical assistance for the SAMHSA-funded Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She has developed and delivered both synchronous and asynchronous trainings focused on the policy process across the region and internationally. Prior to joining the Southeast PTTC, Kristin led the Tobacco Control Training and Technical Assistant Team at the Colorado School of Public Health. Her team provided statewide advocacy and policy guidance to local health agencies focused on eliminating tobacco-related disparities. Kristin collaborated with multiple Colorado communities to pass                                               local tobacco control policies such as retailer licensing and expanded smoke-free/vape-free ordinances.   Sara Cooley Broschart leads the newly established Center for Advancing Alcohol Science to Practice. Sara is a public health leader with over a decade of experience in substance use prevention at local, regional and state levels. Contribution to community has been a driving value, and she is thrilled to work with communities nationwide in her new role. Her experience includes advising alcohol and marijuana regulators on policy and best practices, developing innovative methods to engage community voices in policy making activities, building a statewide alcohol policy alliance from the ground up, and establishing a health network in rural Nicaragua. Sara has done extensive graduate work in Cultural Anthropology and Public Health at the University of Michigan and holds a BA in Biology and Anthropology from the University of Virginia.     Snigdha Peddireddy is a Fellow currently supporting the Training and Technical Assistance Center and Alcohol Action Network. She is an early-career alcohol and other drug policy researcher with expertise in policy evaluation and statistical modeling methods. Broadly, Snigdha studies the impacts of structural determinants on inequities in substance use-related harms. She is a current PhD student at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Snigdha also holds an MPH in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BS in Neuroscience from Duke University.       Questions? Contact Britany Wiele ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this webinar.

April is National Alcohol Awareness Month. To raise awareness about alcohol-related harms and the importance of alcohol policy safeguards, we have launched the Alcohol Awareness Toolkit: #ProofIsInTheNumbers. The Alcohol Awareness Toolkit seeks to do the following during the month of April: Raise awareness about alcohol-related harms and the importance of strong alcohol policies using memes, and Encourage engagement from prevention and public health stakeholders to strategically educate and inform decision makers about effective alcohol policies by providing easy-to-personalize, templated opinion editorials, letters to legislators and proclamations.   The Northwest PTTC is excited to bring these resources to communities in Region 10 and throughout the rest of the PTTC Network. We encourage our prevention partners to use the materials to raise awareness around the weekly themes to observe April as National Alcohol Awareness Month.   View the other resources available in this toolkit.

Women and Alcohol:  Drinking to Cope in a Pandemic World While alcohol drinking rates and alcohol-related deaths have been on the rise for women over the past couple of decades, the COVID-19 pandemic created a perfect storm for increased alcohol availability and drinking to cope. The Women and Alcohol:  Drinking to Cope in a Pandemic World data brief, provides context for why problem drinking is increasing in prevalence among women. It also compares national data to HHS Region 6 states' data (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas), and explores strategies for addressing the problem. Select the download button above to access the Women and Alcohol:  Drinking to Cope in a Pandemic World data brief. Watch the Women and Alcohol Lunch and Learn to hear a discussion about the brief.        

Prevention Spotlight: Investigative Reporting on Excessive Alcohol Use   Webinar Description Join the Northwest PTTC for this Spotlight Presentation, during which Independent journalist Ted Alcorn will present top-line findings of his ongoing, multipart investigation of alcohol’s impact on the state of New Mexico, where drinking kills at a faster clip than anywhere else in the country. He has also reported for the New York Times on alcohol mortality nationwide and policy changes pursued in Oregon. He will also provide insight into his reporting process and his views about the respective roles that journalists, advocates, and government officials play in advancing measures that improve population health and wellbeing.   Objectives Describe the outsize impact alcohol has on the state of New Mexico, some of the factors driving it, and evidence-based measures to reduce its toll Explain the role that investigative journalism has played in focusing public attention and galvanizing legislative action  Identify potential obstacles and remaining gaps to achieving progress in reducing alcohol-related harms   Webinar Recording Prevention Spotlight: Investigative Reporting on Excessive Alcohol Use Recording   Additional Resources Alcohol Awareness Toolkit, Northwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center Blind Drunk Series Main Page, New Mexico In Depth Blind Drunk Resources for Reporters, New Mexico In Depth Rethink the Drink, Oregon Health Authority   Presenter Ted Alcorn,  is an independent journalist whose reporting on health and justice has appeared in numerous publications. An adjunct at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service, he was previously the founding research director of Everytown For Gun Safety and a policy analyst in the New York City mayor’s office. He earned graduate degrees at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and their School for Advanced International Studies, and lived in Beijing, China as a Henry Luce scholar.   Questions Contact Kathy Gardner ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this webinar.

Preventing Underage Drinking and Excessive Drinking among Adults through Alcohol Policy Webinar 2: The What - Evidence-Based Alcohol Policies to Reduce Community Level Harms   February 22, 2023   Webinar Overview and Objectives In collaboration with the Southeast PTTC, Center for Advancing Alcohol Science to Practice, and the US Alcohol Policy Alliance, interactive webinar #2 details alcohol policy strategies that can be effective in reducing excessive and underage drinking, and their associated community-level harms. This webinar will cover a range of strategies and their levels of effectiveness. In this webinar, participants will explore: How alcohol policy strategies can address excessive and underage drinking at the community level Which alcohol policy strategies are being used in communities across the country How these policy strategies complement the prevention work already happening in local communities   Webinar Materials Recording for Webinar 2: The What - Evidence-Based Alcohol Policies to Reduce Community Level Harms Slide Deck for Webinar 2: The What - Evidence-Based Alcohol Policies to Reduce Community Level Harms (PDF) Local Alcohol Policy Exploration Worksheet   Additional Resources  Center for Advancing Alcohol Science to Practice Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity, Third Edition, Baro, Casswe.., Graham, Huckle, Livingston, Osterberg, Rehm, Room, Rossow, Sornpaisarn   Recordings for Other Sessions Recording for Webinar 1: The Why - Alcohol Policy: A Community Approach to Reduce Community Harms Recording for Webinar 3: The How - A  Proven and Practical Model to Guide the Development of Local Alcohol Policies   Presenters: Michael Sparks is an Alcohol Policy Specialist and President of SparksInitiatives. His primary interest is in assisting communities to implement evidence-based environmental strategies to reduce alcohol and other drug problems. Among others, Michael is currently working with Wake Forest University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation and Health Foundation of South Florida on a range of public health issues. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the US Alcohol Policy Alliance.       Sara Cooley Broschart leads the newly established Center for Advancing Alcohol Science to Practice. Sara is a public health leader with over a decade of experience in substance use prevention at local, regional and state levels. Contribution to community has been a driving value, and she is thrilled to work with communities nationwide in her new role. Her experience includes advising alcohol and marijuana regulators on policy and best practices, developing innovative methods to engage community voices in policy making activities, building a statewide alcohol policy alliance from the ground up, and establishing a health network in rural Nicaragua. Sara has done extensive graduate work in Cultural Anthropology and Public Health at the University of Michigan and holds a BA in Biology and Anthropology from the University of Virginia.       Snigdha Peddireddy is a Fellow currently supporting the Training and Technical Assistance Center and Alcohol Action Network. She is an early-career alcohol and other drug policy researcher with expertise in policy evaluation and statistical modeling methods. Broadly, Snigdha studies the impacts of structural determinants on inequities in substance use-related harms. She is a current PhD student at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Snigdha also holds an MPH in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BS in Neuroscience from Duke University.     Questions? Contact Britany Wiele ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this webinar.

In this Issue:   The Value of Collaboration Epi Corner: Addressing Rural Health Disparities Using the Gifts of History to Promote Wellness SAPST 2023 Updates, Curriculum Launch for Trainers, March 14 What's Happening Around the Region? Training Event: Promising Approaches for Reducing Substance Misuse-Related Health Disparities in Rural Contexts, February 23 Free Online Courses through HealtheKnowledge ACE Master Trainer Region 6 Directory New Prevention Specialist Candidate Guide

Our guest on this episode is Samantha Sherman, the Prevention Resource Center Director at Community Partnership of the Ozarks. She leads a team that provides substance use prevention TA, and works tirelessly to reduce stigma, suicide, and improve mental health awareness. The funder of this project, along with all other products of the Mid-America PTTC, is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Although funded by SAMHSA, the content of this recording does not necessarily reflect the views of SAMHSA. Did you know nearly 700 publications and digital products are available on the SAMHSA store front. Visit https://store.samhsa.gov Learn more mental health first aid from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Visit https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/

April is National Alcohol Awareness Month. To raise awareness about alcohol-related harms and the importance of alcohol policy safeguards, we have launched the Alcohol Awareness Toolkit: #ProofIsInTheNumbers. The Alcohol Awareness Toolkit seeks to do the following during the month of April: Raise awareness about alcohol-related harms and the importance of strong alcohol policies using memes, and Encourage engagement from prevention and public health stakeholders to strategically educate and inform decision makers about effective alcohol policies by providing easy-to-personalize, templated opinion editorials, letters to legislators and proclamations.   The Northwest PTTC is excited to bring these resources to communities in Region 10 and throughout the rest of the PTTC Network. We encourage our prevention partners to use the materials to raise awareness around the weekly themes to observe April as National Alcohol Awareness Month.   View the other resources available in this toolkit.

April is National Alcohol Awareness Month. To raise awareness about alcohol-related harms and the importance of alcohol policy safeguards, we have launched the Alcohol Awareness Toolkit: #ProofIsInTheNumbers. The Alcohol Awareness Toolkit seeks to do the following during the month of April: Raise awareness about alcohol-related harms and the importance of strong alcohol policies using memes, and Encourage engagement from prevention and public health stakeholders to strategically educate and inform decision makers about effective alcohol policies by providing easy-to-personalize, templated opinion editorials, letters to legislators and proclamations.   The Northwest PTTC is excited to bring these resources to communities in Region 10 and throughout the rest of the PTTC Network. We encourage our prevention partners to use the materials to raise awareness around the weekly themes to observe April as National Alcohol Awareness Month.   View the other resources available in this toolkit.

April is National Alcohol Awareness Month. To raise awareness about alcohol-related harms and the importance of alcohol policy safeguards, we have launched the Alcohol Awareness Toolkit: #ProofIsInTheNumbers. The Alcohol Awareness Toolkit seeks to do the following during the month of April: Raise awareness about alcohol-related harms and the importance of strong alcohol policies using memes, and Encourage engagement from prevention and public health stakeholders to strategically educate and inform decision makers about effective alcohol policies by providing easy-to-personalize, templated opinion editorials, letters to legislators and proclamations.   The Northwest PTTC is excited to bring these resources to communities in Region 10 and throughout the rest of the PTTC Network. We encourage our prevention partners to use the materials to raise awareness around the weekly themes to observe April as National Alcohol Awareness Month.   View the other resources available in this toolkit.

While building protection for all our young people is a common and aspirational goal for many from diverse walks of life, schools present a unique opportunity and challenge for doing so. This report describes a set of simple yet powerful practices that, when used consistently by teachers, can enhance middle school student agency and build student success skills. This report summarizes these activities and aligns the evidence-based practices to the components of the Social Development Strategy, a strategy for enhancing daily interactions with young people that have been proven to have far-reaching positive effects on their development.

Preventing Underage Drinking and Excessive Drinking among Adults through Alcohol Policy Webinar 1: The Why - Alcohol Policy: A Community Approach to Reduce Community Harms   January 18, 2023   Webinar Overview and Objectives In collaboration with the Southeast PTTC, Center for Advancing Alcohol Science to Practice, and the US Alcohol Policy Alliance, interactive webinar #1 will detail the benefits of working on evidence-based, population-level strategies to make the largest impact on community-level harms associated with alcohol. Presenters will discuss the science that guides effective strategies and how the science relates to communities working on alcohol-related issues. In this webinar, participants will explore: The data associated with harms from excessive drinking and underage drinking in the US How local conditions affect alcohol-related harms at the community level The power of evidence-based, population-level strategies to address the community harms associated with excessive and underage drinking   Learning Session Materials Recording for Webinar 1: The Why - Alcohol Policy: A Community Approach to Reduce Community Harms Slide Deck for Webinar 1: The Why - Alcohol Policy: A Community Approach to Reduce Community Harms (PDF) Local Alcohol Policy Exploration Worksheet   Additional Resources  Center for Advancing Alcohol Science to Practice CADCA's Community Assessment Primer Alcohol Action Network American Public Health Association, Addressing Alcohol-Related Harms: A Population Level Response CDC's Alcohol and Public Health Website and Alcohol Portal A Tale of Two Zip Codes   Recordings for Other Sessions Recording for Webinar 2: The What - Evidence-Based Alcohol Policies to Reduce Community Level Harms Recording for Webinar 3: The How - A  Proven and Practical Model to Guide the Development of Local Alcohol Policies   Presenters: Michael Sparks is an Alcohol Policy Specialist and President of Sparks Initiatives. His primary interest is in assisting communities to implement evidence-based environmental strategies to reduce alcohol and other drug problems. Among others, Michael is currently working with Wake Forest University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation and Health Foundation of South Florida on a range of public health issues. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the US Alcohol Policy Alliance.       Sara Cooley Broschart leads the newly established Center for Advancing Alcohol Science to Practice. Sara is a public health leader with over a decade of experience in substance use prevention at local, regional and state levels. Contribution to community has been a driving value, and she is thrilled to work with communities nationwide in her new role. Her experience includes advising alcohol and marijuana regulators on policy and best practices, developing innovative methods to engage community voices in policy making activities, building a statewide alcohol policy alliance from the ground up, and establishing a health network in rural Nicaragua. Sara has done extensive graduate work in Cultural Anthropology and Public Health at the University of Michigan and holds a BA in Biology and Anthropology from the University of Virginia.     Liz Parsons joined the Center as Associate Director this spring. She has worked in the youth and community health field for 20 years, specializing in youth substance use prevention for the last 14 years. She has led local youth substance use prevention initiatives in several communities in Massachusetts and was a leader in the public health response to Massachusetts’ review of alcohol laws. Liz has presented about local and state alcohol policy implementation at local and national forums. She especially enjoys supporting public health professionals in their efforts to increase awareness and knowledge about impactful alcohol policies and connecting alcohol policy research with practitioner efforts in communities. Liz has a master of education from the University of Bristol, UK.        Snigdha Peddireddy is a Fellow currently supporting the Training and Technical Assistance Center and Alcohol Action Network. She is an early-career alcohol and other drug policy researcher with expertise in policy evaluation and statistical modeling methods. Broadly, Snigdha studies the impacts of structural determinants on inequities in substance use-related harms. She is a current PhD student at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Snigdha also holds an MPH in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BS in Neuroscience from Duke University.     Izabelle Wensley is the joint Project Coordinator for the Center for Advancing Alcohol Science to Practice and the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance. She is an experienced public health advocate and activist. She started her advocacy career at the age of 13 with Dover Youth to Youth, a non-profit program that specializes in drug and alcohol prevention through youth empowerment. She has conducted trainings in over a dozen states, engaging youth across the country. Her desire to make a difference through advocacy led her to pursue higher education in public health. Izabelle graduated from Johnson & Wales University in 2022 with a B.S. in Public Health where she helped establish the Undergraduate Research Center. Izabelle looks forward to continuing to develop her knowledge and skills in the alcohol prevention field.     Questions? Contact Britany Wiele ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this webinar.

  The past ten years have ushered in radical changes to alcohol and cannabis policies. From the 2012 legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use in Colorado to the pandemic-related changes in home delivery of alcohol, there’s been a seismic shift in the substance misuse landscape and the way prevention professionals must approach their work. This virtual learning event explored why policies are critical to prevention efforts, situating the role of policy within comprehensive prevention efforts. It included a deep dive into alcohol & cannabis policies and explored the fundamentals of policy change and implementation as an environmental intervention.   Learning Objectives: • Identify the factors that influence substance misuse including environmental (Community-wide) prevention strategies. • Identify ways to engage stakeholders and community members in policy change efforts. • Explore the effects of evidence-based policies.   Ivy Jones Turner – Is a training and technical assistance specialist with Education Development Center. For over 20 years, Ivy has provided organizational capacity assistance on health promotion and prevention in substance misuse, suicide, violence, injury, and mental health with nonprofit and community-based organizations, state and faith-based agencies, and school districts. Her capacity building skills include program evaluation, training and technical assistance in program design and implementation, organizational development, partnerships/collaborations, and sustainability. Ms. Jones-Turner is a Certified Prevention Specialist and holds an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Lauri Solomon -Is a training and technical assistance specialist with Education Development Center.  She is a public health expert and an experienced prevention specialist.  For over 20 years, she has provided training and technical assistance (TA) on topics such as substance misuse, HIV and sexually transmitted infection, and teen pregnancy prevention. She brings expertise in community needs assessments, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, program evaluation, social marketing, parent education, and positive youth development models. 

  The past ten years have ushered in radical changes to alcohol and cannabis policies. From the 2012 legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use in Colorado to the pandemic-related changes in home delivery of alcohol, there’s been a seismic shift in the substance misuse landscape and the way prevention professionals must approach their work. This virtual learning event explored building policy change readiness and the implementation considerations, situating the role of policy within comprehensive prevention efforts. It included a deep dive into alcohol & cannabis policies and explored the fundamentals of policy change and implementation as an environmental intervention.   Learning Objectives: • Discuss preparing your community to do policy work. • Identify ways to engage stakeholders and community members in policy change efforts. • Describe ways to incorporate policy work into community youth development efforts.   Ivy Jones Turner – Is a training and technical assistance specialist with Education Development Center. For over 20 years, Ivy has provided organizational capacity assistance on health promotion and prevention in substance misuse, suicide, violence, injury, and mental health with nonprofit and community-based organizations, state and faith-based agencies, and school districts. Her capacity building skills include program evaluation, training and technical assistance in program design and implementation, organizational development, partnerships/collaborations, and sustainability. Ms. Jones-Turner is a Certified Prevention Specialist and holds an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Lauri Solomon -Is a training and technical assistance specialist with Education Development Center.  She is a public health expert and an experienced prevention specialist.  For over 20 years, she has provided training and technical assistance (TA) on topics such as substance misuse, HIV and sexually transmitted infection, and teen pregnancy prevention. She brings expertise in community needs assessments, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, program evaluation, social marketing, parent education, and positive youth development models.

  This virtual learning series explored the connections between the social determinants of health and substance misuse and its consequences, while looking at how awareness and understanding of the social determinants can strengthen your prevention planning efforts. This session also looked at strategies to integrate the social determinants of health into work with community members and partners.   Debra Morris is a results-driven, people-centered professional who brings over 40 years of public health experience to improve population health. She leverages expertise in system strengthening, trauma-informed practices, training, technical assistance, and coalition building to develop culturally responsive interventions. Debra guides agencies with evidence-based and culturally competent prevention strategies to optimize and enhance service delivery models.  She is praised for her ability to mobilize diverse stakeholders in the development of community-centered solutions and utilizing effective methods to address health disparities. She received her MPH from Emory University School of Public Health and is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist. Ben Spooner is a skilled training and technical assistance provider with more than a decade of experience in substance misuse prevention. He has expertise in communications planning, sustainability planning, strategic planning, product development, project management, event organizing, and developing and facilitating distance-learning events. Ben has served as a TA provider for the Center for Strategic Prevention Support since its inception in 2012. He has a passion for incorporating cultural and linguistic responsiveness into his work and helping the communities he works with do the same. He is a certified prevention specialist and has Project Management for Development Professionals (PMD Pro) certification from APMG International.

This 3-minute video describes the effects of the most commonly used substances (E-Cigarettes, Cannabis, & Alcohol) on the developing teen body.   Share this video on your Social Media or embed it in your presentations as a supplemental resource.    Click "View Resource" to go to the video.    For more information, contact us: [email protected] 

This 2-minute video describes the effects of substances on the developing teen brain. The brain is a complex organ and doesn’t fully develop until a person’s mid 20s. Substances affect the brain and can cause developmental issues.   Share this video on your Social Media or embed it in your presentations as a supplemental resource. Click "Download" to view and download the video. OR Click here to view the video on YouTube (Where you can share, embed, etc.) View   View body video: Effects of Substances on the Teen Body   For more information, contact us: [email protected]