Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Initiatives and Resources
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area (HCCA) supports ongoing youth activities in school districts across our Local Service Area (LSA). HCCA provides assistance to youth groups who engage in addressing community needs around improving physical activity and nutrition, preventing substance abuse and decreasing tobacco use and exposure.
The Student Intervention and Reintegration Program (SIRP):
This 12-hour interactive class is available for teens who have begun to make unhealthy choices about substance use: alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. This evidence-based program provides students with accurate information about the risks of use, and helps them weigh-for themselves-the advantages and disadvantages of continuing to use. Most important, it helps students plan for and commit to changes in their behavior. The program is offered to small groups: 4-10 people. Parents of participating students are provided with information about the program, and how they can support the program's goals for their teen, at the beginning of the program on the first afternoon.
The SIRP program will be delivered during school year 10-11 through a partnership among: Gardiner Area High School,
Hall-Dale High School, Monmouth Academy, Augusta Boys and Girls Club and Healthy
Communities of the Capital Area. To make a referal, or self refer, please complete the registration form linked here.
The program is also being offered to individuals under age 21 who are responding to underage drinking related charges being processed by the Kennebec County District Attorney's Office.
MYDAUS
HCCA utilizes data from the Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey (MYDAUS), a survey voluntarily conducted every two years by schools to quantify the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances among middle and high school students. Survey results are used to identify the risk and protective factors that influence a student's choice of whether or not to engage in these and related harmful behaviors. Identification of specific populations in which the risk factors are high and the protective factors are low permits the targeting of interventions where they are most needed. Survey results for years 2000 - 2006 are available at the MYDAUS website .
LifeSkills™ Training Program
HCCA supports implementation of the LifeSkills™
Training Program , a research-based substance abuse prevention program
proven to reduce the risks of alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse, and violence
by targeting the major social and psychological factors that promote
the initiation of substance use and other risky behaviors. HCCA supports
LifeSkills™ teacher training and program implementation across our LSA .
Our local service area includes: Augusta, Chelsea, Farmingdale, Fayette, Gardiner, Hallowell, Litchfield, Manchester, Monmouth, Mount Vernon, Pittston, Randolph, Readfield, Richmond, Vienna, Wayne, West Gardiner, Windsor, Winthrop.
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