Here’s What We’ve Accomplished Over the Last 3 Years

by | Aug 5, 2019 | Uncategorized

One of the most important responsibilities of the Wellness & Prevention Center staff is our leadership of the Wellness & Prevention Coalition.

The Wellness & Prevention (WP) Coalition is part of the Federal Office of National Drug Control Policies Drug Free Communities program. Through a 5 year grant we receive $125,000 per year to lead a coalition made up of every sector in our community. The mission of the WP Coalition is to lower the use of nicotine, alcohol, marijauna, and illegal drugs by youth under the age of 21.

When we wrote this grant request three years ago we chose lowering past 30 day use of alcohol and marijuana among our youth as our measurable goals. The program does allow us to add to these goals as over five years the challenges in a community may change. At our last nationwide training in Washington DC, we were encouraged to include programing to help youth understand the health impact of vaping devices and to lower the stigma surrounding youth mental health and suicide.

Last week we held our second annual WP Coalition leadership strategy session. Following are a few key updates and some of our objectives for the next year:

 

Accomplishments of the Wellness & Prevention Coalition:

  1. When we started the funded coalition in 2017, the California Healthy Kids Survey data reported past 30 day use of alcohol for 7th, 9th, and 11th graders were 4%, 16%, and 35% respectively. In the most recent data the past 30 day use of alcohol for 7th, 9th, and 11th graders were 2%, 13%, 27% respectively.
  2. San Clemente HIgh School has a very active youth coalition that has made an impact on their peers through both on-campus and community wide events. One of their favorite events is Puttin’ on the Glitz where they serve hot chocolate and pass out red ribbons for car door handles to remind the community to drive responsibly.
  3. Per the request of community members we have increased education both on-line and through live events that focus on both the health impact of vaping and guidance on navigating the complicated social media world.

 

Objectives for next year:

  1. Increase WP Coalition focus on environmental factors that influence youth vaping, including partnering with city government to possibly ban the sales of flavored cartridges for vaping devices, attempted buys at local vape shops, and a town hall to get input from the community on their views about how we can help youth make healthy choices.
  2. Increase the voice of our youth in planning and implementation by facilitating youth coalitions in middle schools.
  3. Develop a sustainability plan that ensures the continuation of WP Coalition work past the Federal grant funding award.
  4. Plan to increase community knowledge about the signs and symptoms of the diseases of mental health in teens, lower the stigma surrounding talking about the diseases of mental health and substance use, and provide resources for community members to find support and referrals. (the Wellness & Prevention Center provides these services wpc-oc.org)

I hope you are now wondering, “What can I do to help?. The Wellness & Prevention Coalition always needs volunteers, donations, and ideas.

 

Please consider:

  1. Attending one of our monthly meetings – these are open to the public – second Tuesday of each month from 3:30PM-5PM at 189 Avenida La Cuesta – to be added to the meeting email list : lauren@wpc-oc.org.
  2. Sign up for our bi-monthly email – it keeps you current on community activities and events as well as provides educational materials: wpc-oc.org.
  3. Make a donation to support our work: www.wpc-oc.org.

 

Leadership participants:

Back row left to right: Toby Huddle – San Clemente Human Affairs, William Carson, Picket Fence Media, Alex Thornton – Community Outreach Alliance, Teri Steel – Community Outreach Alliance, Susan Parmelee – Wellness & Prevention Center, Lauren Gallegos – Wellness & Prevention Center

Second Row left to right: Ashley Ortiz, San Clemente High School, Cecilia Gallardo-Daly, City Of San Clemente, Teresa Tran – Waymakers, Blair Verza – National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Marci Mednick – Mission Hospital, Naomi Willey – Waymakers

Front row left to right : David Paddison – Waymakers, Brian Gunsolley, Orange County Sheriff’s Department

 

Not Pictured: Amarii Sandoval- Youth Coalition President, Sophii Sandoval – Spanish Coalition Leader, Jennifer Anthony – LMFT, Susan Jennrich – Outlets at San Clemente