Substance Use Prevention Toolkit

Substance Use Prevention Toolkit

The important work of prevention happens every day. Events like Red Ribbon Week and Substance Use Primary Prevention Month are opportunities celebrate year-round substance use prevention initiatives and the possibilities prevention brings to communities. These events can be used as a catalyst for communities coming together to celebrate the ongoing work of prevention. Prevention helps create an environment where individuals feel connected, supported and safe. Learn how to get involved by using the toolkit below. 

Toolkit Resources

This Substance Use Prevention Month Toolkit was designed to provide easy to use resources and materials for increasing awareness of substance use prevention in North Dakota.

To help make Substance Use Prevention more effective, try these things:

• Use National events/campaigns such as Substance Use Prevention Month and Red Ribbon Week as a foot in the door for more effective, long-term prevention programs and policies as identified in your planning process. Research and data should guide your efforts.
• Focus on the environment. Have students identify areas of their environment where changes can be made and have them offer solutions for change. Make it easy for them to get involved in the process. 
• Promote the work you are currently doing and ask for additional support. It will take collaboration and partnerships to change outcomes.
• Promote healthy lifestyles and positive behaviors using data where applicable. Often times, there are misperceptions around substance misuse and support for prevention. It is important when communicating, you dispel these misperceptions especially with youth.
• Don’t limit prevention to just one week out of the year. Making an impact on behaviors and norms takes time and ongoing implementation.

Review and Refine Policies:

These events are also a great time to review your current policies and ask whether they support prevention.  The goal is to make sure your policies are part of a larger prevention strategy; not just a response after something happens.
Consider:

• Do our substance use policies clearly explain expectations and consequences?
• Are our policies focused only on punishment, or do they also provide opportunities for support and education?
• Do students and families understand our policies?
• Are our policies applied consistently?
• Do we have a clear process for responding when a student may be using substances?
• Do we connect students and families with appropriate resources when concerns arise?
• When was the last time we reviewed and updated our policies?