Author: Charles Frank
National Substance Abuse Prevention Month The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
We are also working to ensure full parity between physical and mental health care so all Americans have access to quality, affordable care, including for substance use. Prevention programs work at the community level with civic, religious, law enforcement, and other government organizations to enhance anti-drug norms and pro-social behaviors. Many programs help with prevention efforts across settings to help send messages through school, work, religious institutions, and the media. Research has shown that programs that reach youth through multiple settings can remarkably influence community norms. Community-based programs also typically include the development of policies or enforcement of regulations, mass media efforts, and community-wide awareness programs.[23] Increasing health education in the community also plays a role in helping to decrease the consequences of substance use.
On a community level, established safe injection sites that provide a hygienic space supervised by licensed healthcare professionals allow for safe monitoring of participants and provide health education and care to prevent overdose. Another way to help prevent overdose, especially regarding opioids, is the increased access and knowledge of naloxone. Most youths do not progress towards regular, heavy substance use after experimentation.
Preventing substance use during adolescence has been shown to significantly reduce the chance of developing a substance use disorder later in life. For every dollar we spend today on effective school-based prevention programs, we save $18 in the future by avoiding potential medical costs and boosting productivity on the job. Prevention programs also make young people less likely to one day have children who use substances, highlighting the far-reaching value these efforts have across generations.
Prevention Planning
The Red Ribbon Campaign serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities, educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities. Successful intervention programs typically involve high levels of interactivity, time-intensity, and universal approaches that are delivered in the middle school years. These program characteristics aligned with many of the effective program elements found in previous reviews exploring the impact of school-based drug prevention on licit drug use. Last year, our Nation lost nearly 111,000 Americans to fatal overdoses — 1,000 of those lost to overdose were children and adolescents less than 18 years old. No family should have to know the pain of losing a child to the opioid and overdose epidemic. We owe it to all those who are struggling with substance use or who have lost a loved one to overdose to finally put an end to this crisis.
Prevention within the medical field plays a large role in impeding substance abuse. This is largely seen when looking at the role nurses play in the opioid crisis in the United States. One program that nurses can get involved with regarding the opioid epidemic is medication-assisted treatment (MAT) system. Another type of program that nurses can assist in to reduce opioid addiction is called “eat, sleep, console.” This is an approach that nurses can take when treating patients that can reduce which medications a patient needs and how long their hospital stay is.
- Another type of program that nurses can assist in to reduce opioid addiction is called “eat, sleep, console.” This is an approach that nurses can take when treating patients that can reduce which medications a patient needs and how long their hospital stay is.
- We are also working to ensure full parity between physical and mental health care so all Americans have access to quality, affordable care, including for substance use.
- This is largely seen when looking at the role nurses play in the opioid crisis in the United States.
- Let us all take action to implement practice and evidence-based prevention strategies and improve the health of our Nation.
- The simple wearing of a red ribbon is a visible act that shows your support for safe and healthy choices.
Americans can all agree that this work is critical –- irrespective of their political party affiliation. That is why I made beating the opioid epidemic — our Nation’s most deadly drug use crisis — a pillar of the bipartisan Unity Agenda that I unveiled in this year’s State of the Union. Last year, we invested nearly $4 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to expand mental health and substance use services and to help school districts increase the number of social workers on staff by as much as 54 percent. My Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposes $3.1 billion in National Drug Control funding for prevention, nearly $850 million more than last year.
At-Home Drug Disposal
Prevention strategies targeting the root of the problem are essential to curb drug use and help people lead healthier lives. Early intervention helps prevent substance abuse and reduce the negative consequences of addiction before they occur. Through community-based efforts involving youth, parents, educators, and government officers, we can strengthen the support systems that deter our Nation’s young people from drug consumption and improve both academic performance and workforce readiness. At such a volatile time — with 1 in 6 youth impacted by the nation’s mental health crisis, and with youth fatal overdose rates escalating faster than any other age group — schools and communities came together for collective action and to elevate prevention. This included wearing and sharing 15,000 red ribbons, as well as through social media messages spoken from the heart of brave young people who felt inspired to spread hope on topics like naloxone.
During National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month, we recommit to providing families, educators, and communities with access to lifesaving resources. Throughout October and all year long, let’s celebrate all those who are doing prevention work in support of better, healthier lives for individuals, families, and communities. Describes the need for an integrated system of care for youth with traumatic stress and substance use disorders.
Awareness and Health Observances
Discusses ways to better engage adolescents who have experienced trauma in treatment. Please consider making a donation to SAFE Project in support of our prevention and Red Ribbon distribution efforts. Together, we can continue to support the power of prevention and stimulate health-enhancing choices. Offers perspectives on the intersections between trauma, caregiver substance use, parenting, and prenatal substance use exposure.
Let us all take action to implement practice- and evidence-based prevention strategies and improve the health of our Nation. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth. Today’s young people represent the most gifted, talented, and tolerant generation in American history.
This creative theme was submitted by Cheryl Holsapfel, Digital Art Teacher, and Devansh Aggarwal from Solon Middle School. It serves as a powerful reminder that ordinary Americans nationwide contribute significantly to their communities every day by embracing a drug-free lifestyle. We’ll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Substance abuse prevention
It is one of the most pressing issues facing our Nation that we must all tackle together. My Administration has invested over $169 billion in total for drug control policies and programs, including programs to expand evidence-based prevention programs for our youth. In schools, we are working to hire and train more mental health counselors, social workers, and other health professionals supporting students.
SAMHSA’s mission is to lead public health and service delivery efforts that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and provide treatments and supports to foster recovery while ensuring equitable access and better outcomes. My Administration proposed a rule this summer that reinforces the fundamental goal of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, ensuring families have the same access to mental health and substance use benefits as they do to physical health benefits. The rule proposes making it easier to get in-network mental health care and eliminating administrative barriers to access that keep people from getting the care they need, when they need it. The month of October signifies National Substance Use Prevention Month — a time for communities to come together as partners in prevention.
Offers parents and caregivers information to help support their surviving children after a the death of a sibling due to substance use or overdose. When you purchase Red Ribbon themed merchandise, you’re helping support drug-use prevention efforts nationwide. The simple wearing of a red ribbon is a visible act that shows your support for safe and healthy choices. With this collective action in mind, we are offering — at no cost — red ribbons to distribute to your networks. Red Ribbon Week — recognized each year from October — is the nation’s largest and longest-running substance use prevention campaign. Since its beginning in 1985, it has touched the lives of millions of people around the world.