Products and Resources Catalog

   2023 RESEARCH & DESIGN (RAD) PRODUCTS: New research-based substance misuse prevention tools supporting Practical Resources to Address The Root Causes of Substance Misuse with a Focus on the IC&RC Prevention Domains. Prevention Product Development for the New England Region. Link to view the recorded webinar (recorded on August 17, 2023).    EXPLORING ROOT CAUSES OF SUBSTANCE MISUSE THROUGH SOCIAL STORIES This resource consists of a work of research on the trauma of underrepresentation experienced by Black communities and the ripple effects it has on Black children. This social story title ‘I Feel’ can be used in a variety of settings and tackles the topic of emotions while also confronting the difficulties that emerge from living with a parent who is beginning their path to recovery. READ MORE AND DOWNLOAD.     SUPPORTING YOUTH & ADDRESSING UNDERLYING CAUSES OF SUBSTANCE USE This handbook is designed for adults to better support youth while addressing underlying causes of substance misuse. Throughout this resource, the reader will build a better understanding of the role Adverse Childhood Experiences play in substance use and proven solutions to prevent and mitigate their impacts. The target audience is parents/caregivers, teachers, counselors, coaches, and anyone else who interacts with youth. READ MORE AND DOWNLOAD.     HEALTHY COMMUNITY, HEALTHY PEOPLE: COMMUNITY CANNABIS POLICY TOOLKIT FOR THE VERMONT PREVENTION PROFESSIONAL 2.0 A toolkit that prevention professionals and communities working on cannabis-related policy improvement can use to help support prevention and public health at a community level. This kit has been updated in 2023 to include additional tools and information, including stigma-free language relevant to this work, talking points to use with key audiences, questions to use for community polling, and template presentations for community and key audience education. READ MORE AND DOWNLOAD.     PREVENTING & ADDRESSING ACES IN HISPANIC AND LATINO This guide is designed for Hispanic and Latino Faith Leaders in Massachusetts and can be used to prevent and address adverse childhood experiences impacting Hispanic and Latino communities. Faith Leaders can learn about the connection between trauma and substance use disorder, specific impacts within the Hispanic and Latino community, and the interventions the faith community can deploy to mitigate the impact of ACEs. READ MORE AND DOWNLOAD.     PREVENTING ROOT CAUSES OF SUBSTANCE USE IN LGBTQIA+ YOUTH This toolkit is designed for prevention professionals and can showcase proactive techniques for upstream prevention efforts to address minority stress among LGBTQIA+ youth. This toolkit includes a call to action for the prevention workforce, highlights data and data limitations, research on minority stress and its connection to substance misuse, and provides evidence-informed recommendations for the reader.  READ MORE AND DOWNLOAD.       SUBSTANCE USE RECOVERY AND PREVENTION FOR FAMILIES IN TREATMENT: A GUIDE FOR THERAPISTS, CLIENTS, AND FAMILIES A practical resource to be shared by clinicians with individuals in treatment for substance use disorder. This toolkit will provide the person in treatment with resources from the disciplines of prevention and peer recovery support. It will assist in increasing the family’s awareness of applicable prevention information and strategies and will educate about various levels of clinical and peer supports that are available in the community. READ MORE AND DOWNLOAD.       View the 2021 products.   View the 2022 products.

  Webinar Description Creating a personal professional development plan can seem challenging, whether it’s finding time within our schedules or balancing family obligations, deciding which trainings to select, or overcoming difficulties and finding the motivation to continue. In this webinar we looked at the benefits of creating and regularly reviewing a professional development plan and examined the key components to include in creating professional development plans, including:   · Revisiting personal professional development goals and strategies considered or started · Assessing and identifying successes and challenges in personal development plans · Exploring strategies to overcome professional development challenges · Exploring potential career pathways and approaches to a career in prevention · Developing a personal 6-month professional development plan   Presenter Carol Oliver is a nationally recognized leader and trainer in substance misuse prevention. She has expertise in knowledge translation, instructional design, and strategic planning. She specializes in developing systems to solve complex health-related problems and creating effective behavioral health workforces. Nicole M. Augustine is a passionate prevention thought leader, dedicated to using innovative strategies to strengthen communities, address health inequities, and drive change. An experienced training and technical assistance (TA) specialist, she specializes in integrating equity throughout the strategic prevention framework. Nicole is a Certified Substance Use Prevention Consultant and a Master Certified Health Education Specialist. She is the author of Prevention Specialist Exam Study Guide (Routledge), a book that helps readers understand the competencies and knowledge necessary to become a certified prevention specialist.   Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint  Handout

  Webinar Description This training will reviewed how Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is diagnosed and its associated effects on the body and long-term impacts on opioid users. Discussion included a review of cognitive impairment, compulsivity factors, risk factors, and physical dependence for OUD, which may have implications for screening and treatment. The stigma associated with opioid use and prevention strategies were also covered.   Presenter Diana Padilla, MCPC, CARC, CASAC-T, is a Research Project Manager at New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center. She is a senior staff trainer for the Northeast & Caribbean Addiction Transfer Technology Center Network (NeC-ATTC), and a member of the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry. As a cultural agent, Ms. Padilla promotes an equity lens in trainings for engaging diverse communities in need, aligning with evidence and strength-based strategies within behavioral health, addiction, prevention, and recovery supports fields and professional capacities.    Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint Supplemental Resource 

LGBTQ Youth and Substance Use Disorder Kate Bishop, MSSA July 26, 2023, 1:00pm-3:00pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION It’s been a tough year for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) youth, as access to gender affirming health care, youth sports, and drag performances are vilified and outlawed in one state after another. Far from value-neutral, overhearing this political discourse too often leads to life-threatening shame, despair, and self-harm thoughts and feelings for young people just coming into their LGBTQ identity. As in many communities that experience discrimination, LGBTQ young people may overuse substances to cope with a hostile environment that insults their humanity. Though youth are especially vulnerable, LGBTQ people across the lifespan are at markedly higher risk for mental health challenges and harmful substance use than the public. Evidence has shown that identity-targeted interventions can be effective in supporting wellness within these communities. This webinar will describe these disparities, explore what makes young LGBTQ populations particularly vulnerable, provide suggestions about how best to support a young queer, trans, or nonbinary individual in crisis, and consider Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM)-targeted prevention frameworks and strategies. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Define the impact of social determinants of health, including prejudice and discrimination, family rejection, trauma, and stress-related illness, on the substance use behaviors of Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) youth populations, highlighting how current policy conversations and conditions are affecting the population. Describe LGBTQ sub-cultural norms, attitudes, myths, and messages around substance use and misuse. Identify community-targeted intervention strategies to support SGM youth struggling with substance use disorder. PRESENTERS Kate Bishop, MSSA, Education Coordinator at the LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton, is a seasoned professional development trainer with expertise in working with LGBTQ populations, sexual and reproductive health care, adolescent development, intimate partner violence, and sexual trauma. She is certified as a trainer through GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) as well as SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders). Before joining the Chase Brexton team, she developed the capacity building program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s STAR TRACK Adolescent HIV program, providing cultural responsiveness trainings for agencies that serve sexual minority youth of color. Ms. Bishop holds a Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies from Hiram College and a Masters in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University.  

Xylazine: Understanding the Latest Emerging Substance July 25, 2023, 1:00pm-3:00pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION Xylazine (or “tranq”) is a non-opioid sedative and tranquilizer only approved for use in veterinary medicine. However, over the past several years, human consumption of xylazine has begun rapidly increasing. Although initially only identified in illicit drug supplies in limited areas, xylazine has been found in 48 states as of April 2023. Xylazine is frequently, though not exclusively, used in conjunction with opioids, particularly fentanyl—due to xylazine’s ability to prolong their effects. Xylazine use presents many potential dangers to people, including increased risk of overdose and the development of necrotizing tissue damage. This webinar will bring together experts from across disciplines to discuss the history of xylazine use, what is known about its current scope of use and consequences, the effects of xylazine on people, and wound care and other harm reduction strategies. It will also offer an opportunity for participants to ask questions in a roundtable panel discussion format. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe Xylazine and its history of use and consequences. Explain how harm reduction strategies need to be adapted for complications in Xylazine use. Describe the current trends that detail the scope and the extent of the Xylazine issue. PRESENTERS Jason Bienert, RN, CWCN Josh Esrick, MPP   DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA) GUEST:  Gail Poirier Section Chief, Strategic Intelligence Section (NIT) Jaclyn Iera Program Manager, Office of Forensic Sciences   SAMHSA:        Jeanne Tuono Assistant Regional Director (Region 3)      

In this Issue:   The Times, They are a-Changin!: The Updated SPF Application for Prevention Success Training (SAPST) Taking a SAPST course Epi Corner: Understanding and Addressing the Needs of LGBTQ+ Youth Additional Resources for LGBTQ+ Youth What's Happening Around the Region?

The Veil of Secrecy Removed – Breaking the Generational Curse Regarding HIV & Substance Misuse Zina Age, LMSW, MAC July 19, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION Life unleashed an era of addictions and disease among communities that are marginalized. The 'Veil of Secrecy’ has cross-contaminated the lifestyles of those that are incarcerated, rural, youth, elderly, men, women and the LGBTQ communities. Secrecy nurtures disease because it provides an environment conducive to the spread of infection. Over the last forty years many of us have come to know about a virus with a cure that has so far eluded us. Some of us learned about this virus through news reports, others encounter the devastation of this virus on a more personal level. African American men and women account for a large number of new cases of those infected with HIV/AIDS. We could recite statistics, but that won’t save us. We are still often too silent in the places where we seek peace, cry and shout praises the most. We have to deal with the silent stigma/trauma that is ravaging our communities from a holistic perspective addressing secrecy, shame and guilt. The underserved multicultural population is affected in many ways including social economic, substance misuse, mental health, sex working, sex abuse history, and lifestyles associated with trauma informed care. This webinar is designed to address the silent stigma of HIV/AIDS and its connection to addictions in the United States. Sexually transmitted diseases and other health disparities combined with addiction issues are catastrophically affecting underserved communities. The 'Veil of Secrecy' offers service providers practical approaches to dealing with addictions and silence stigma from a holistic harm reduction perspective. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe secrecy, shame & guilt regarding addictions and HIV/AIDS Identify a practical approach to dealing with addictions and silence stigma from a holistic perspective Describe addictions in multicultural underserved communities PRESENTERS Zina Age, LMSW, MAC, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana and a graduate of Louisiana State University, holds a graduate degree in Social Work from Clark Atlanta University and a Masters in Addiction Counseling from the National Association of Forensic Counselors. Zina began working in the social services field in 1987, serving African American populations affected by HIV/AIDS and other health disparities. In 1996, she founded Aniz, Inc., which is dedicated to providing therapeutic education and support services for children and families from disadvantaged multicultural communities infected with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS.  Ms. Age has served on many national and local committees dedicated to educating people about issues surrounding HIV and is a noted public speaker that has been invited to serve as a panelist, guest presenter and keynote speaker at various universities, conferences and forums in the U.S. and abroad. She has delivered engaging presentations on topics such as, but not limited to: Undercover Community Mental Health and Substance Use Issues, HIV/AIDS Prevention and Risk Reduction Programs, Holistic Harm Reduction, the Inter-Generational spread of HIV/AIDS, Homophobia, Transphobia and Gender-phobia in the Black LGBT community, and Combating the “Secrecy, Shame and Guilt” surrounding HIV/AIDS issues.  

In this Issue:   Data Gap Spurs Development of Collegiate Survey in Arkansas Additional College Intervention Resources Epi Corner: Substance Use, ACEs, and Mental Health Disorders as Contributors to Maternal Mortality What's Happening Around the Region? SAMHSA Releases New Data on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Behavioral Health

  The Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC are dedicated to integrating cultural responsiveness into all our training and technical assistance offerings. We aim to help develop workforce competencies to provide equitable and inclusive care to all. Download this guide to learn more about our growing inventory of evidence-based trainings designed to improve the delivery of culturally-responsive prevention, treatment, and recovery approaches!   If you have questions about the culturally-responsive trainings we currently offer or suggestions for additional culturally-responsive trainings that would support the behavioral health workforces in our region, please contact:  Alfredo Cerrato, Senior Cultural & Workforce Development Officer ([email protected])  

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.  Laura Sacks Morris received he B.A. in Communications with high honors from the University of Maine at Orono. In 2000, she founded the Second Chance Foundation with the mission of helping youth make healthy decisions through ongoing preventive, interactive theatrical school programs on bullying, addictions, suicide, tobacco prevention and other topics.  For over 10 years, she worked as a facilitator and theatrical director with the Council for Drug Free Youth as well as one year as the Project Coordinator for the Drug Free Community grant in mid-Missouri. After re-locating back to Maine 7 years ago, she continues her work in prevention as the Project Director for Be the Influence, a Drug Free Community grant, including building a coalition of community members who have collectively worked to reduce youth substance use in the Windham/Raymond area. She is certified as a national leadership/prevention trainer including TIPS, DEEP and a range of other subjects as well as a motivational speaker and CADCA prevention graduate. Email: [email protected] Web:  www.betheinfluencewrw.org SAMHSA offers free, downloadable publications and tip sheets, as well as mobile apps for youth, teens, and young adults on topics such as substance misuse, common mental health conditions, and coping with disasters and other traumatic events.  https://www.samhsa.gov/prevention-week/voices-of-youth/substance-use-prevention-resources-youth-college-students  Art is not only a protective factor, but it’s a great community builder and gateway to collaboration. Interested in learning more about the use of art in prevention? You can follow “be the influence” on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube or visit their website at betheinfluencewrw.org. Learn more today!

  Media Literacy Resources From the PTTC Network All media literacy skills can be used across topics, but these resources have been organized based on the primary way media literacy is applied by the source. Click here to download the Media Literacy Resources Handout.   Additional Resources and Webinars: Media in Prevention Webinar 1: Social Media Best Practices Media in Prevention Webinar 2: Media Literacy as a Practical and Transferrable Skill Media in Prevention Webinar 3: Using Media in Substance Misuse Prevention  

Use this simple chart & its key questions to map out, track and achieve your own professional development goals. For additional information, view the associated training here. 

Webinar Description The National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards provide a framework to assist organizations to work more effectively and resourcefully with diverse populations. This interactive training will instruct on how to implement the National CLAS Standards within behavioral health care settings to build organizational capacity and provide culturally informed and linguistically conducive services that enhance recovery and wellness pathways, integrate strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities and advance behavioral health equity and inclusion for both communities and the professionals that provide care.   Presenter Diana Padilla, MCPC, CARC, CASAC-T, is a Research Project Manager at New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center. She is a senior staff trainer for the Northeast & Caribbean Addiction Transfer Technology Center Network (NeC-ATTC), and a member of the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry. As a cultural agent, Ms. Padilla promotes an equity lens in trainings for engaging diverse communities in need, aligning with evidence and strength-based strategies within behavioral health, addiction, prevention, and recovery supports fields and professional capacities.    Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint  Handout - CLAS Standards Handout - CLAS Checklist  Handout - CLAS Cultural Competence Self Assessment   

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. My Guests today are Karie Terhark and Chuck Daugherty. Karie works with the team at Hue Life inspiring and facilitating change guided by the values of inclusion, teamwork, and collaboration. Chuck currently serves as the Executive Director of Act Missouri a training and technical assistance provider and has been advancing in the field of photography for 5 decades. Together they are advancing the art of PhotoVoice in the prevention field. Today we’ll explore this technique and learn about a recent project they completed with teens in rural Kentucky. SAMHSA offers free, downloadable publications and tip sheets, as well as mobile apps for youth, teens, and young adults on topics such as substance misuse, common mental health conditions, and coping with disasters and other traumatic events. You’ll find a link for these resources in the show notes. https://www.samhsa.gov/prevention-week/voices-of-youth/substance-use-prevention-resources-youth-college-students  Interested in learning more about PhotoVoice? There are several research papers, case studies and examples about this art form available on the internet. The Community Toolbox has a great resource complete with examples and a downloadable PowerPoint, and Act Missouri offers a tool kit to help jump start a student photovoice. Links to these resources are in the show notes. If a picture is worth a thousand words, PhotoVoice helps tell the whole story. Learn more today! Email: [email protected]  [email protected] Web Resources: https://photovoice.org/  community toolbox  ACT Missouri Toolkit   Karie Terhark is a Certified ToP Faciliatator who previously worked as the Director for Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (A.S.A.P.). While at A.S.A.P., she facilitated a countywide coalition of volunteers to assess, plan, and implement environmental strategies to change the culture around underage drug and alcohol abuse. Through that process, the coalition has successfully passed ordinances and policies that have created sustainability in their efforts. Karie also worked for 10 years in the Human Resource field along with being a small business owner. Karie’s energy is contagious and she is driven to inspire people to make a change in their lives and communities.   Chuck Daugherty first got involved with community mobilization in the late 90’s. Since then he has worked as a community organizer and mobilizer across the Southwest. In Texas, Chuck trained and supervised three community outreach teams mobilizing to combat the HIV crisis in specific targeted populations. Additionally, he consulted with community coalitions in the Greater Dallas Area organizing to prevent teen substance abuse. While employed as a Prevention Specialist at the Southwest Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT) at the University of Oklahoma, he provided community technical assistance, training, consultation, to communities throughout a nine-state region in the Southwest. Most recently Chuck is the Executive Director of Act Missouri, and Co-Director of the Mid-America PTTC that serves the four states in HHS Region7. As a semi-professional photographer he has recently begun combining his passion for prevention with his passion for photography providing technical assistance and training for Community Photovoice Projects across the country. 

  Webinar Description How we as prevention professionals communicate our prevention messages to our intended audience is key to our success in reaching sustainable long term substance abuse prevention outcomes.  While we have many tools at our disposal, harnessing the power of these tools to convey our prevention message and inspiring our audience to see their place at the table is how we know that our communication strategy is effective.     During this two-part series, we: Reviewed communication goals in prevention and dug into the “who” and the “what” as it relates to promoting our prevention message(s) Explored best practices for creating slides, handouts, and newsletters to support prevention efforts Identified practices that help persuade our target audience to engage in our initiative and take action   Session 2 is an opportunity to review using tools such as newsletters, handouts and slides.   Presenters  Clara McCurdy-Kirlis is a multilingual communications and project management professional and has over 15 years of experience in project development, implementation, and management. She has held lead roles in health and education instructional design for adult learners, e-learning design and delivery, higher education curricula development, and interdisciplinary project coordination. McCurdy-Kirlis has also led communities of practice (CoP) with an emphasis on facilitating dialogue in a safe space where participants can share successes, challenges, and brainstorm solutions together. Clara designs virtual and face-to-face training materials and creates tools, blogs, and informational resources for the Northeast and Caribbean Prevention Technology Transfer Center in English and Spanish.   Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint

The Northeast and Caribbean Spring 2023 Newsletter is here. This issue highlights Professional Development for Prevention Professionals and our upcoming trainings. 

In this Issue:   Alignment and Synergy for Prevention Leadership Epi Corner: Children's Mental Health: Protecting the Most Vulnerable What's Happening Around the Region? Other Opportunities

Prevention Spotlight: What Does & Does Not Work in Prevention May 17, 2023   Webinar Description Many trainings and resources focus on what research has shown to be effective to prevent substance use. We also know through research what is NOT effective and sometimes harmful in preventing substance use. Yet communities across the nation continue to implement these ineffective and sometimes counterproductive strategies. The focus of this webinar will be on identifying these ineffective approaches and alternative evidence-based strategies to replace these ineffective strategies. We will also spend time discussing strategies prevention professionals can use to address the resistance often expressed by individuals and organizations reluctant to change long-standing, well-liked, but ineffective prevention practices.   Objectives In this webinar, participants will: Identify interventions that have been shown through research to not be effective in preventing substance use. Identify evidence-based interventions that can be used as effective alternatives to the ineffective strategies. Describe strategies to address resistance to discontinuing ineffective prevention strategies.   Webinar Recording and Slides What Does & Does Not Work in Prevention Recording What Does & Does Not Work in Prevention Slide Deck (PDF)   Additional Resources SAMHSA-SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Alcohol Tax Tool Pre-Emption Tool Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity The Community Guide Reducing Vaping Among Youth and Young Adults Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health Cannabis: Moving Forward, Protecting Health SAMHSA - Preventing Marijuana Use Among Youth National Academies of Science and Engineering: Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility STOP Act Report to Congress   Presenters 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.   Rick Collins is a Cincinnati, OH native who has resided in Hawai‘i since 2003. He specializes in public health policy on alcohol and other drugs. He is the co-founder of the Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance and the Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth, and he currently serves as Coalition Director for three community coalitions across Hawai‘i. His experience includes building new community coalitions, community organizing, and building coalition capacity to implement community-level policy strategies that reduce the harms of substance use. Rick currently serves as a board member for the US Alcohol Policy Alliance. He is a Certified Prevention Specialist and holds an MS in Counseling Psychology from Chaminade University   Questions Contact Kathy Gardner ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this webinar.

Amy Ronshausen is the Executive Director of both Drug Free America Foundation and Save Our Society from Drugs. Both of these national nonprofit organizations work to defeat drug legalization attempts, promote sound drug policies, and prevent drug use, abuse and addiction. Amy is passionate about reducing illegal drug use and drug prevention, coordinating grassroots advocacy campaigns, prevention summits, analyze and track state and federal drug policy legislation, and training prevention professionals at local and national conferences. www.dfaf.org (drug free America foundation)  www.saveoursociety.org (save our society from drugs) https://onechoiceprevention.org/ (One Choice) https://www.listenfirstproject.org/ (Listen First Project) https://learnaboutsam.org/ (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) https://onechancetogrowup.org/ (One Chance to Grow Up) 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 online at https://store.samhsa.gov Learn about the real risks for people who use marijuana, especially youth and young adults, and women who are pregnant or nursing. SAMHSA has online resources available at www.samhsa.gov/marijuana 

Watch this video to see some of our alumni and fellows sharing their experience as participants of the National Hispanic and Latino Executive Leadership and Fellowship Program! The National Hispanic and Latino Executive Leadership and Fellowship Program is designed to help entry-level to mid-level career leaders/managers become great leaders in their field. The program focuses on leadership capacity building offering behavioral health leaders the opportunity to discover and expand their leadership strengths and be better prepared when new and greater opportunities come up.

This webinar will explore common risk factors for mental health and substance use disorders.   The presentation is roughly divided into two evidence-based approaches to stigma-reduction and education:  Part 1 includes a personal testimony of co-occurring substance use disorder and mental health diagnoses.  Part 2 details the common risk factors and provides context for preventing and treating co-occurring disorders   Learning Objectives:  To compare risk factors for mental health and substance use disorders To apply research-informed approaches to preventing and/or supporting recovery from mental health and/or substance use disorders   About the Presenter:   Dr. Alex Elswick joined the Department of Family Sciences at the University of Kentucky in 2020 as an Assistant Extension Professor for Substance Use Prevention and Recovery.  He began his journey with the department as a graduate student in 2015, where he earned his Master’s and PhD and later served Family and Consumer Sciences Extension as an Extension Associate and as an Extension Specialist. Alex Elswick is a tireless advocate for people who use drugs and people with substance use disorders.  He currently serves the University of Kentucky as an Assistant Extension Professor for Substance Use Prevention and Recovery. He is a trained researcher and therapist, but most importantly, Alex is himself a person in long term recovery from the chronic disease of addiction.          

Webinar Description This event detailed successful processes for prevention professionals to communicate our prevention messages to the intended audiences and best approaches for using common communication vehicles. Learning Objectives Included: · Review communications goals in prevention · Review best practices to create and share messages that build community support for prevention initiatives · Identify strategic practices to apply in using communications tools to support prevention · Reinvigorate communications messages using a positive prevention frame   Presenter Information Kimberly Elliott is the communications director for Education Development Center's U.S. Division. She is a highly skilled nonprofit leader with 20 years of experience. Kim has been involved with all aspects of crafting meaningful and impactful messaging campaigns. She is a strategic storyteller, a book author, a highly successful grant writer, and is dedicated to helping prevention workforce professionals move our work forward by harnessing the power of words.  Ivy Jones Turner, MPA, CPS is an expert in behavioral and mental health promotion and prevention, is an experienced program leader, technical assistance (TA) specialist, applied researcher, and evaluator. Her expertise includes building the capacity of schools and organizations to research, implement, evaluate, and sustain interventions to prevent substance misuse, suicide, youth violence, and bullying, and to promote social-emotional and mental health. Ivy holds an MA in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is a certified specialist in prevention and conflict mediation in Massachusetts.   Additional Documents  PowerPoint  Flyer  Supplemental Resource

Stigma and Substance Use Disorder Prevention Part 2 Josh Esrick, MPP, and Demetrie Garner, CPRS May 11, 2023, 10:00am-11:30am EST COURSE DESCRIPTION This webinar will review strategies for addressing and preventing stigma against people at risk for substance misuse, substance use disorders, and consequences of substance use. It will discuss strategies at multiple levels: 1) peers and individuals; 2) within prevention organizations; 3) among collaborative partners and across the behavioral health continuum; 4) throughout the community at-large; and 5) in society as a whole. Each of these strategy levels will be examined from the perspectives of both academic research and lived experiences. Additionally, the webinar will include a facilitated small group exercise on identifying potential strategies for addressing stigma. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe strategies for overcoming stigma when working with clients who use substances Identify strategies to avoid stigma within prevention organizations Recognize how prevention can work with collaborative partners and across the behavioral health continuum to address stigma Assess opportunities to address stigma in the community and across society PRESENTERS Josh Esrick, MPP is the Chief of Training and Technical Assistance at Carnevale Associates, LLC. Mr. Esrick has over ten years of experience researching, writing, evaluating, and presenting on substance use prevention and other behavioral health topics. He is an expert in providing training and technical assistance (TTA) in substance use, having overseen the development of hundreds of TTA products for numerous clients, including six of SAMHSA’s ten regional Prevention Technology Transfer Centers (PTTCs), the PTTC Network Coordinating Office, the Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) and Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers (MHTTC), and SAMHSA’s Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT). These trainings and products have covered a wide range of topics, including strategic planning, data collection and analysis, and identifying evidence-based prevention interventions for youth. In addition to TTA, Mr. Esrick has directly provided many of these services to behavioral health agencies and other entities. He has published several academic journal articles. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master of Public Policy from George Washington University.     Demetrie Garner, CPRS, as a Peer Recovery Specialist, has been presented with the unique opportunity of working in the largest Emergency Department in the state of Maryland. This has given him the vantage point to encounter minority disparities. A lack of health communication targeted to African-Americans and other minorities help further this disparity. As a Peer Recovery Specialist, the visible cracks of systemic inadequacies in health care and its access garners attention and policy changes in patients with substance use disorders. Having the experience in active addiction abusing opiates, cocaine, and alcohol for 26 years with countless relapses fostered the experience needed to help others in active addiction. Finding recovery over the last 2 and 1/2 years while working in the recovery field has given Demetrie a unique perspective in recidivism and retention throughout the process of recovery. With the help of the God of his understanding (Jesus Christ), Narcotics Anonymous, and healthy relationships, the pathway of a daily reprieve from active addiction is now possible. Continuous work through pastoral licensed counseling has unlocked the acceptance of childhood molestation and recovery from trauma. After 21 years since Demetrie decided to drop out of high school in the 11th grade, education seemed to become more important to obtain. If he wants to help individuals who look like himself and suffer from trauma and active addiction, then higher education has to be pursued. While at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, currently a sophomore, Demetrie’s interest in studies is in the social science of public health. Future involvement with research is being pursued with patients that have wait times in emergency rooms with substance use disorders. Previous research this past semester has examined minorities  hesitancy to receive Covid vaccinations. Demetrie is currently a Pre-McNair Scholar with ambitions to attend UMBC School of Public Policy M.P.P Program Spring of 2022.  

Youth and Opioid Usage Nikita Danthi May 10, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION This webinar will address the importance of education of opioid effects among high school students. We will examine how this lack of awareness of youth is impacted by systemic issues, and can cause misuse of the drug. This webinar will also discuss the effects and statistics of opioid use, as well as strategies for minimizing these inconsistencies faced by different communities. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Discuss the importance of addressing opioid usage and review the disproportionate impact of lack of education. Explain key considerations for serving people who are most impacted (the diverse communities). Understand the need for more education and awareness among high school students. Explain why early education is important and how it can lead to prevention. Review the challenges and opportunities the opioid epidemic has caused. PRESENTERS Nikita Danthi is an intern at the PTTC, and has been interning since January. She is a Psychology and Public Health dual degree on the population health track. She is also pursuing a Sociology minor, and will be graduating in May 2023.