A prevention coalition is a group of people from different parts of the community who all work together to improve public health in the region. We focus on youth health, including:
- preventing and reducing youth substance use and violence;
- promoting racial justice and equity for everyone in schools and the community; and
- supporting the well-being and mental health of youth, children, and families.
Some of the people in our coalition already work on these issues every day in their jobs, like healthcare providers, mental health counselors, and educators. Others are community members who care about the health of our community because they are parents or business owners. Especially because we focus on youth health, youth leaders also have an important role in our coalitions by leading the way among their peers to tackle the problems they care about.
Our prevention coalitions use strategies that work. We support programs and host events that are based on research and science. The data collected from annual teen health surveys provides important information about the most pressing health-related problems in our communities. We also learn about the risk factors (things that can increase the risk of these problems) and the protective factors (things that help to decrease health-related problems). Comparing teen health survey data from year to year helps us to understand how behaviors, attitudes, and risk and protective factors change over time so we can effectively work on the things that are most important right here in our communities.
Join us! Whether you are a community member interested in getting more involved, a student wanting to make a difference, a professional who works in a related field, a municipal leader, or a recent graduate thinking about the next steps in your career, there is a place at the table for you.
Contact us or come to a meeting or event. We look forward to being in touch!