Substance Use Prevention: Bringing the Excitement Back

"Just say no" did not work. The War on Drugs just added to the confusion. DARE was proven to be ineffective. But what if we flipped the script on traditional primary prevention?

This session will feature the work of High Point Treatment Center’s Prevention Services, which started its journey with overdose prevention and backed into primary prevention, bringing a unique perspective on how to integrate harm reduction and stigmatized topics into the conversation because prevention does not happen in a vacuum. Through changes in priorities, political pressures, funding and geographic catchment areas, presenters will showcase how to effectively adapt to make sustainable change in a diverse region. They will demonstrate what it takes to be adaptive, flexible, and responsive to community needs by elevating the voice of people who usually are not heard. They will share best practices in prevention work, including the following concepts: thinking outside of the box, finding your person, rebranding prevention, just saying yes, and the importance of empowering champions in the community. Participants will learn the do's and don'ts of both youth and adult targeted prevention work, innovative thinking, and application, as well as a simple rulebook to capacity building. Presenters also will prioritize youth prevention work, including the pillars of forming a youth coalition, the growth of Prevention Services’ annual youth conference, and the shift in youth engagement due to the pandemic. Most importantly, presenters will provide strategies on bringing the “sexy back” in substance use prevention.