Stevenson — The community-based group One Prevention Alliance (OPA) is looking for the right person to help the coalition reduce drug and alcohol abuse in Skamania County through early intervention, education, and community outreach.
Members of the alliance worked hard to secure the highly competitive Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grant, which is administered by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and now managed by the CDC. Preventing youth substance use is critical to ending the drug crisis in America so having the substantial grant significantly helps OPA fulfill its mission to increase the health and well-being of youth, parents, and community members.
As a first step, the coalition will be looking to hire a coordinator, who will need to be a jack of all trades and ensure that a five-year federal grant is appropriately spent. "The new coordinator will allow One Prevention Alliance to expand programs and engage more youth and young adults in the process. This coordinator will become my collaboration partner, that is very exciting! Together, we will carry out OPA's work plan," said Karen Douglass, OPA coordinator funded from the state level grant, Community Wellness and Prevention Initiative. In addition to this collaboration, the new full-time coordinator will get to engage with community members, business leaders, government agencies and other coalitions, to help reach the coalition’s goals. The person selected for the position will receive ongoing and informative trainings from the CDC and other agencies.
“This grant is an enormous blessing for our community and will really help us focus on what we know to be the key to reducing substance use and abuse, especially amongst our youth- connection,” said Somer Meade, an OPA volunteer who helped secure the grant. She encouraged anyone who is dedicated to making a difference in our county and has the various skills required of the coordinator to apply for the position. Skamania County is the Fiscal Agent for the grant, and this job opportunity will be available through the county’s Human Resource department. This position is expected to open during the week of Feb. 8, at which time a full job description will be on the county’s website. For more information, call 509-427-3980 or visit the OPA Facebook page.
The many volunteers who make up OPA’s membership are excited to bring on board a new coordinator. This is the second DFC award for the group, and previously some of the funding went towards sustaining an officer in the schools and supporting a student-run prevention club at Stevenson High School called “StandUp4Teens” (SU4T). Among many activities, the SU4T group put on day-long summits where teens from neighboring districts all came together to learn about the effects of alcohol and other drugs on the brain and body. They also participated in hands-on sessions to learn about peer pressure and heard from inspirational speakers who had struggled with drug addiction. Some students also signed pledges to remain drug-free.
The challenges to remain sober are mounting, especially with the legalization of cannabis and the growing presence of alcohol and marijuana-based businesses throughout the region. The novel coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the challenge of helping youth refrain from using cannabis, prescription drugs and alcoholic beverages. Behavioral health experts know that people feeling the economic and emotional stress of COVID-19 are turning to inebriants to salve their worries. Yet doing so only increases their dependence on drugs, and causes even deeper emotional and economic issues. A biennial Healthy Youth Survey has shown modest success in the past at curbing the local use of alcohol and other substances, but many youth remain extremely susceptible, and with the challenges mentioned above and the growing mental health crisis amongst young people, OPA’s mission has never been more pertinent.
The members of OPA worked diligently to secure the five-year grant, and are keen to find the right person to help divert youth to healthier activities. A committee of OPA members will review the applications and interview the top candidates as soon as possible. The coordinator should expect to hit the ground running.
About One Prevention Alliance
One Prevention Alliance is a community coalition of dedicated volunteers who are working to reduce and prevent substance abuse by supporting a vision of "Healthy Youth, Successful Families, and a Supportive Community." We can prevent substance abuse and reach this vision by increasing the health and well-being of our youth, parents, and community members of the Stevenson-Carson School District through education, intervention, and outreach. For more information contact Karen Douglass by phone 360- 952-3330 or e-mail: karen.douglass@esd112.org.
Commented