Community forum to feature prevention strategies, local resource providers, and Naloxone training
Vista, CA – WHAT: A Community Forum will kick off National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week. Educators, students, and families with lived experience will provide valuable information to increase awareness about substance use during adolescence, while dispelling common myths and stereotypes.
Caregivers will learn substance use prevention strategies, healthy communication techniques, signs of substance use, and how to respond to an overdose. Naloxone, the opioid-reversing medication, will be available at no charge. Spanish translation will be provided.
WHO
- Students from Rancho Buena Vista High School’s Public Policy Club
- Joan Faus, Vista Unified School District
- Dr. Alex Wallace, Department of Psychiatry, UCSD
- Laura Brinker-White, Connor’s Mom (Connor was a 17 year-old honor student who died in 2021 from a pill laced with fentanyl)
- Vista Sheriff Crime Prevention
- William Perno, SAY San Diego
WHEN & WHERE
Monday, March 20, 2023 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Morris B. Vance Community Rooms, 200 Civic Center Drive, Vista CA 92084
WHY
Launched in 2010, National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week provides an opportunity to bring together scientists, students, educators, healthcare providers, and community partners to help advance the science and address youth drug and alcohol use in communities and nationwide.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a pediatric onset disease. 90% of adults with SUD began their use before age 18, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. The developing brain is uniquely vulnerable to alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, and other substances.
Substance use is not inevitable. According to the Monitoring the Future study, many young people choose not to use substances. Preventing youth use, addressing underlying causes, and treating substance misuse can promote physical and mental health.
Resources: San Diego Access and Crisis Line available seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day at (888) 724-7240.
You can also access resources at sandiegocounty.gov/hsa.programs/bhs/ or by dialing 211.
About the North Coastal Prevention Coalition… The North Coastal Prevention Coalition aims to reduce the harm of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs in the cities of Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista through community action, education, support and collaboration. Funded in part by the County of San Diego, HHSA, Behavioral Health Services, with a contract to Vista Community Clinic. Visit www.northcoastalpreventioncoalition.org
