PreventionFIRST!
 | |
| Founded | 1996 Cincinnati, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
Area served | Greater Cincinnati |
Key people | Rob Portman,[1] Founder |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati |
The mission of PreventionFIRST! is to promote healthy behaviors by sparking and sustaining community change. The Coalition collaborates with multiple partners working in ten counties, across three states, bringing together individuals of varying backgrounds and responsibilities within these communities, to work toward their vision that people make healthy choices in every stage of life.
History[edit]
The Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati, Inc., DBA, PreventionFIRST!(PF!) was founded in 1996 by then U.S. Congressman Rob Portman as a comprehensive effort to address youth substance abuse [2]. One of his constituents had been impacted by substance use/misuse – a Clermont County mother had lost her son because of huffing and marijuana use. He knew he could not legislate the problem away so he brought together key community leaders like Hope Taft (Ohio First Lady Emeritus), John E. Pepper Jr. (retired CEO of Procter and Gamble), and Rev. Damon Lynch Jr. (pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Cincinnati) to start the coalition. At the time, Mrs. Taft was leading Citizens Against Substance Abuse (CASA), a type of coalition focused on youth empowerment, school-based prevention education, and conducting the CASA youth survey, in Hamilton County [3]. By collaborating to form the Coalition for a Drug-Free Cincinnati, the catchment area expanded to Congressman Portman’s district, bringing prevention to rural counties in southwest Ohio, combining the CASA Survey with the Pride Survey, outreach to other community sectors, and initiating smaller coalitions in local communities.
In 2015, after an extensive re-visioning process, the Coalition rebranded to PreventionFIRST! to help the community better understand who they are and what they do [4]. There is more prevention work to do across the lifespan – with pregnant women, young children, young adults and older adults. And, as preventionists, their scope of practice had expanded to more wellness areas including mental health promotion and gambling prevention within the behavioral health arena. All are connected and share common risk factors. PreventionFIRST! is focused on the prevention of substance use/misuse, not treatment, and they bring all parts of the community together to work on this issue.
Goals[edit]
1). Ensure data-driven decision-making for prevention action. Measuring the impact of their work & that of their partners is essential. PreventionFIRST! conducts the biannual Student Drug Use Survey for the collection of primary youth substance abuse data. They have also established the Coalition Evaluation Center to track, monitor, and report on coalition activity and their contribution to community-level change. Strategies include comprehensive assessments to understand the problem and related social consequences; evaluation of short-term and long-term outcomes; and research on special topics.
2). Strengthen & support local, neighborhood anti-drug efforts. While their prevention actions are implemented on a regional, macro level, they work to establish new and support developing programs, partnerships, and local coalitions to address their unique community conditions. Strategies include providing training, technical assistance, and seed funding to assist and empower community residents, partners, and key leaders to address their issues.
3). Establish & strengthen collaboration across community sectors to implement evidence-based prevention. PreventionFIRST! has identified underage drinking, marijuana use and prescription/over-the-counter drug misuse as the primary substance abuse problems among our youth. Strategies are designed to change social acceptability, access/availability, media messaging/promotion, and policy/enforcement to create a more supportive & thriving environment for youth to grow up in.
Coalition Strategies[edit]
PreventionFIRST! has three centers: Center for Prevention Science, Center for Community Engagement and Center for Prevention Action.
The Prevention Science strategy is aimed at increasing data-driven decision for effective prevention programs through assessment, survey analysis, evaluation, and research.
The Community Engagement strategy is aimed at building, strengthening and supporting substance abuse prevention programs , partnerships, and coalitions through training, technical assistance and seed funding.
The Prevention Action strategy aims to change or influence multiple community conditions and circumstances to reduce community level alcohol, tobacco, and other substance problems.
Contact Information[edit]
Address: 2100 Sherman Avenue, Suite 102 Norwood, Ohio 45212
Phone: (513)751-8000
Email: info@prevention-first.org
Website: prevention-first.org
Facebook: PreventionFirst
Twitter: @PrevFirst
Youtube: PreventionFIRSTCincy
LinkedIn: Coalition for a Drug-Free Cincinnati
References[edit]
- ↑ "Spotlight is on Ohio's Low-Profile Portman". Associated Press. June 21, 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ↑ "Rob Portman United States Senator for Ohio". October 1, 2018.
- ↑ "First Lady of Ohio, Hope Taft to Receive Award at Mary Baldwin University". Mary Baldwin University. October 1, 2018.
- ↑ "PreventionFIRST! News Release" (PDF). PreventionFIRST!. October 1, 2018.
This article "PreventionFIRST!" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:PreventionFIRST!. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
