Our Mission is to unite prevention advocates in Washington State to create safe and healthy communities by preventing substance misuse and violence.
What Is Prevention?
Prevention means taking action early to stop problems before they start and to help people stay healthy and well. Prevention means going upstream from where problems are being seen to change conditions in order to prevent future problems. Click here to read "The Prevention Story" that illustrates how prevention is supposed to work.
The National Prevention Strategy demonstrates how stopping or reducing substance misuse and heavy drinking among adults – and all illegal substance use by youth - helps people live better lives. It improves school success, work performance, and military readiness. It also lowers crime, accidents, and health care costs.
Effective prevention practice uses research-based programs and methods. Click here to learn more how prevention is implemented.
Effective Prevention Is A Key To Reducing Behavioral Health Impacts
The most effective way to reduce the impacts of substance use disorders and other behavioral health challenges - such as depression, anxiety, school dropout, and chronic absenteeism - is to prevent the problems from developing in the first place.
Prevention is based on a
simple idea: the best way
to ensure the health and
safety of youth in our
communities and to
manage and reduce
service caseloads is to
prevent problem behaviors
before they begin.
Effective prevention
focuses on reducing
a list of commonly known
and well-researched risk
factors that increase the
likelihood of youth
developing problem behaviors. At the same time, prevention strengthens the relationships and supports in young people’s lives that protect them and promote healthy development.
Consistent investment in prevention improves outcomes for individuals, strengthens families and communities, and produces substantial cost savings. The Washington State Institute of Public Policy (WSIPP) estimates that every dollar invested in prevention can save up to $18 in future costs.
Infographic from Conrad Hilton Foundation
Effective Prevention Approaches
Community-based Prevention and Community Prevention Coalitions
Community-based prevention means community members working together to keep an entire local area healthy and safe. It uses many methods like educating people, making environments safer, teaching life skills, changing policies, and building strong connections among community members.
Often, a community prevention coalition - made up of a diverse group of local resident - leads these efforts. These groups of community residents determine priorities, select prevention programs and approaches, and evaluate the success of their efforts. For substance misuse prevention, the coalition’s goal is to delay young people from starting to drink or use drugs and to encourage adults to reduce or stop alcohol and drug misuse.
Prevention efforts like education programs and mentoring can focus on different levels of risk: universal (for everyone), selective (for those at higher risk), and indicated (for those showing early signs).
Community-based Prevention
Environmental Prevention
focuses on:
Changing Social & Cultural Norms -
In other words, changing what is
considered expected and typical
behavior in families, neighborhoods,
schools, and communities.
Promoting desired behaviors through media messages is central to shaping attitudes, norms and beliefs about acceptable & unacceptable behavior.
Changing laws and policies - State laws affect everyone in the state, community ordinances affect everyone in the community, and school district policies affect all students attending school in the district.
Reducing access and availability - The degree to which alcohol, cannabis, tobacco/vape, and other drugs are available to youth.
Liquor and Cannabis Board enforcement agents check to see whether youth under 21 are able to purchase alcohol, cannabis, tobacco or vapor products at retail outlets using authority described in specific chapters of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC).
Changing communities' physical
environments - Posting signs saying alcohol and other drug use is not allowed in city parks is a physical change to the environment that details what behaviors the city wants to see in the park and what it doesn’t want to see.
Positive Social Norms marketing campaign from King County.
Washington State opioid prevention campaign.
School district student conduct policy
Environmental prevention
