Our mission - is to increase community awareness of youth substance misuse and mental health and take action to encourage and support a safe school environment, family involvement, responsible student choices, and community commitment.
Coalition for Youth and Families coalition members care deeply for, and about, the youth in our community. They strive to create a healthier and happier Columbia County.
When we focus on improving the health of our community, we can all come together around a common goal and a unified vision of prevention. The coalition strives to provide youth and community members with healthy options that may deter them from using alcohol and other drugs.
Education is essential to our coalition work because education is key to the growth and development of our youth. Those who don’t know or learn a better way will repeat or begin the path of poor choices which will lead to the disintegration of self, family, and community.
By working toward the common goal of substance abuse prevention and education, we ensure the safety of all members of the community. Our law enforcement partners strive to create a safe environment for all of the members of our community, and especially for our youth.
We use research to combat misinformation- about marijuana and other drugs. The field of Prevention Science is constantly growing and our coalition makes an effort to always be bettering ourselves and using the best strategies possible.
The coalition strives to value every family. We offer the kinds of programs that encourage all families of every social and economic status to participate in parent skill-building to help our kids become resistant to experimenting in harmful substances and behaviors.
The CPWI Model allows us to better target and leverage limited public resources, increasing our ability to gain the best possible outcomes
CPWI is a re-designed funding approach to prevention services in Washington State. The CPWI format is one of the most innovative state-funded prevention programs in the United States. In 2011, funding was reorganized to prioritize services in the highest need communities and to create community coalitions for prevention. CPWI is completely community focused, with a coalition of volunteers being trained on prevention issues, creating and carrying out their own action plan, and analyzing local data to decide what the local priorities are. The community-focused approach allows us to:
Focus efforts and leverage resources;
Build on and replicate what works;
Measure outcomes; and
See a deeper impact in communities.
Over 60 prevention programs and policies have been shown through rigorous research to prevent substance use problems. An evaluation by Washington State University shows that CPWI is meeting its goals: 95% of programs implemented between July 2015 and June 2016 had positive results in delaying the first use of alcohol or other drugs, reducing use, decreasing risk factors, and/or increasing protective factors. Between 2011 and 2016, communities in Cohort 1 showed improvements in all family and community risk factors. Evaluation results also showed significant decreases in 10th-grade substance use outcomes:
Alcohol use and binge drinking - down 42%
Cigarette use - down 49%
Marijuana use - down 11%
Educating the community about the risks of youth substance misuse and the importance of mental health.
Providing resources and training to help parents, teachers, and community leaders support youth in making informed decisions.
Using local data to identify and address the unique challenges facing Columbia County families.
Creating opportunities for youth and families to engage in healthy, substance-free activities that strengthen relationships and promote resilience.
Open today | 09:00 am – 05:00 pm |
"The mission of the Coalition is to promote and support a healthy and safe environment, free from alcohol,
tobacco, and other drug misuse, violence, and related social issues affecting our youth and families."
Kristen Thorstenson
Kristen_Thorstenson@co.columbia.wa.us
509-382-2181
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